


Really Good at Faking It

by toeunderanesthesia



Category: MySims
Genre: Almost Everyone - Freeform, Alternate Universe - High School, Chaz is in denial for a little, Enemies to Lovers, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Feelings Realization, Gay, High School, Human Makoto, Human T.O.B.O.R, Love/Hate, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pretending to Be Gay, Sike plot twists everywhere, Slow Burn, Swearing, The Royal Academy, This Is STUPID, Well - Freeform, idk does this count as slow burn, just gay, maybeeee, might be a little offensive at some times idk, skskskksk, some people are bi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2020-06-26 07:48:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19763746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toeunderanesthesia/pseuds/toeunderanesthesia
Summary: Chaz's Fanclub thinks that he's gay.He rolls with it because they think he's woke.He fakes a relationship with the boy he hates.He ends up not hating him so much.(BASICALLY CHAZ FAKES BEING GAY AND ENDS UP ACTUALLY BEING GAY)





	1. Woke

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry
> 
> *laughs like michael jackson*

He stood in the hallway, leaning against his locker. He hummed a happy tune quietly under his breath as people passed by. He scrolled intently through his phone, never not having it on his person at all times. The times he _did_ forget it someplace, he'd panic his ass off. Suddenly, he felt someone flick his forehead. He looked up. It was the self-proclaimed prince of the school himself: Preston Winthrop. Of course, accompanied by his eye candy at his elbow: Beebee.

"Hi, Preston. Beebee. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He joked. Although, the fact that it was a joke seemed to fly right over their heads.

"Nothing. You just looked like you were enjoying yourself too much." Preston replied snarkily.

"No amount of flicks to the forehead could make me _that_ unhappy, Preston."

"Honey, are you just going to let that slide?" Beebee asked, clinging onto Preston's arm and resting her head on his shoulder.

"For now. Just because we're in the middle of the hall. I don't feel like causing a scene today." Preston huffed and spit on the ground in front of him.

"Let's go, honey! He's not worth your time!" Beebee tugged at his sleeve like a toddler.

"You're right." Preston turned on his heel and left.

"Wait, Preston." He caught his arm and pulled him back, "Maybe if you stopped faking your love for your girlfriend, you'd actually be happy once in a while."

Preston stared him down silently for several moments before blowing a strand of hair out of his face and walking away, fuming.

He looked back down at his phone, happily, now being left alone. This peace was only to be interrupted again, being picked up by the tie and pushed against the locker. His phone dropped to the floor and he looked to see who it was this time. Lo and behold, it wasn't the prince of Royal Academy, but the king.

"Oh. Hello, Chaz." He smiled politely despite the situation. Chaz always appeared caught mildly off guard by the unexpected kindness while being bullied.

"Don't give me that fake, bullshit smile." Chaz pushed him higher against the locker, his feet leaving the ground.

"It's not fake, and certainly not bull! Just glad to see you keep a tight schedule." Chaz appeared confused. He continued, "Did you know that you come to my locker to bully me every single day at exactly two PM? I admire your dedication."

"Wow... So admirable..." Chaz's Fanclub whispered as they passed by through the hall.

"Whatever, dork. Just give me your lunch money." Chaz spat.

"Do people still do that? It's 2019, McFreely. I think that's only something that happens in the movies." He blinked innocently down at him, "Can you please put me down now?"

Chaz growled, "Fine. If you won't give me your cash, I guess I'll just take this." Chaz dangled the phone the fell on the floor in between his fingers. His heart dropped.

"Hey! No! Please!" Chaz let him fall to the floor, "Anything but my phone!" He begged.

"Hnh. It's the newest model, too. Isn't it?" He walked a few steps away and purposefully hung it precariously in the air.

"No!" He ran over and attempted to reach it, only to discover that Chaz was much too tall. He contemplated for a moment before kicking Chaz in the back of the knee to make him fall to the floor. Chaz dropped to his knees and the phone slid across the ground.

"You're gonna pay for that, punk!" Chaz stood up and shoved him against the locker, pinning him there. Chaz was so close. Too close. He could feel Chaz's rage-filled breath across his face as he sank back into the locker in fear. Suddenly, both of them heard an all-too-familiar voice from down the hall,

"McFreely, Scott. You know the rules. No PDA." It was Headmistress Rosalyn Marshall. Chaz immediately stumbled backward, slamming back-first into the lockers on the opposite side of the hall.

"What?! Ew, wh- Hell no! That's not- It wasn't- I'm not fuckin-" He growled under his breath, red-faced.

"Wait! Headmistress Rosalyn, we're not-! We aren't-! It's not what-" He covered his red face with his hands. Onlookers whispered amongst themselves,

"OMG... Is Chaz McFreely really gay?"

"So woke..."

"Yeah. That's so cool of him. Like, to not be afraid of stereotypes and... Y'know. Stuff."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Woke."

\---

Chaz sat in his dorm room alone, anxiously twiddling his thumbs. He thought about the mishap that happened earlier that day.

_Damn. Would those girls really think I was cool if I was gay?_ He thought, _Hell no. Hell no. I am not pretending to be gay._ He furiously shook his head to himself. 

His dormmate walked in while he was brooding. He heard the familiar slight southern American accent; a transfer from Cowboy Junction,

"Are you alright, Chaz?"

Chaz picked up his head,

"Huh? Oh. Uh. Yeah."

"Somethin' on your mind?"

"Rusty, you ever have a girlfriend? O-or a boyfriend or whatever you want?" Chaz asked, flipping his pillow over to the cold side.

"Used to have a guy and a gal. Both of 'em turned out to be no good, though." Rusty replied, indifferent.

_Wait. You can have both?_

_That was an idea._

\--  
The Next Day...  
\--

"Yo! Everyone, I like dudes _and_ girls!"

"OMG... So woke..."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Wait... What?!"


	2. Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis receives a note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *laughs nervously*
> 
> hope you enjoy.................????????

He stared, wide-eyed at Chaz striding through the halls.

"Wait... What?!" He whispered under his breath, his voice cracking.

"Travis!" Someone whispered, pulling him into the bathroom.

"Wh-" He was turned around to see his captor,

"Candy?! D-Did you just pull me into the girl's bathroom?! Bro, we have to leave!" Travis started back towards the door.

"Oh no, you don't!" She grabbed him by the wrist and pulling him into the first stall and shutting it behind them. He looked over at Candy as she brushed her blonde hair frantically out of her face.

"Cut it out, Candy! What're you doing?! I can't be in here!" He screamed, his English accent echoing off the empty walls of the bathroom.

"Travis, is it true that you're dating Chaz McFreely?" She asked under her breath as if it were a crime.

"Wh-What?! No, Candy! Why the hell would you ever think that?!"

"Don't play dumb, Trav'. I was there when Headmaster Rosalyn caught you two in the hallway." Candy rolled her eyes.

"We're not dating! He was fucking bullying me! Is everyone just _assuming_ we're dating now?!" Travis panicked, sitting down on top of the toilet tank.  
Candy sputtered out of panic,

"W-W- Uh- Only everyone who _saw_ it!" She removed her bright green headphones from her ears and hung them around her neck. Travis covered his face with his hands and groaned,

"Candy!" He screamed, "What am I gonna do?! I might be gay, but I could _never_ date THE Chaz McFreely! He's way out of my league...!" He looked up at her with despair in his eyes.

"Travis! This is our chance!" She exclaimed, "If you date Chaz McFreely - the king of Royal Academy - then we'll finally be the cool kids!"

"But you're already a cool kid! You're like the second most popular person besides Chaz!" Travis cried.

"I _was_. At my _old_ school, Trav'. Ever since it closed down and I've had to go here, I've been a nobody to anybody besides you, Zack, and Sapphire! You dating Chaz McFreely could be our road to popularity!" Candy hopped up and down out of excitement.

"Candy, do you even hear what you're saying? There is no way in bloody hell that Chaz McFreely would ever date someone like me! Especially when all he ever dates is hot _girls_!" Travis yelped, "He bullies me every day!"

"Travis, listen to me. Did you even hear what he was yelling in the hallways today?" Candy asked, crossing her arms.

"Of course. He was yelling it at the top of his lungs..."

"He's obviously saying that because of you! He wants you, Travis! You're just in denial." She pouted.

"Candy... Y-You're crazy..." He got up and began to back up to the stall door. His back hit it as he slid open the latch, "You're insane! There's no way!" He attempted to convince himself, running out of the bathroom. 

He stopped in the hallway, leaning his forehead up against a locker. He heard heavy footsteps behind him,

"Scott." Travis heard an all too familiar voice behind him and froze in place. His body went cold.

_Oh no. Nooo no no nononono..._

"I-It's Travis..." He stuttered out as he slowly turned around... "I prefer to be called Travis." ...and looked up to see the one and only Chaz.

"Eh. Scott, Travis, Travis Scott, dork. All the same thing." The tips of his ears turned pink, "Just take this." Chaz forcefully shoved a small post-it note into Travis' hands, simultaneously pushing him backward. Travis looked down at it and opened his mouth to say something,

"Wh-" But Chaz had disappeared. Travis looked down at the note and hissed out a long sigh through his nose. He flipped it over and read it, 

_"football field. under the bleachers. after sixth period."_

Travis trembled. 

"Candy!"


	3. Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis makes a decision. 
> 
> Summer makes a mistake.
> 
> More students are introduced.

"Wait. Wait wait wait wait! Wait. Lemme see that note again!" Candy leaned over the lunch table and snatched the sticky note once more from Travis' shaking hands. She read it silently to herself for a few moments, the others at the lunch table watching intently. Surrounding her at the other seats were Zack, Sapphire, Roxie Road, Poppy Nightshade, and Travis.

"Travis! You _have_ to go! You have to, you have to, you have to!" Candy yelled, bouncing up and down in her seat.

"Candy!" Travis moaned, "Are you crazy? He's probably just going to beat me up again..." He stabbed his food with his fork, sadly.

"I'm with Travis on this one!" Poppy pitched in from behind her sandwich, "I don't want to risk anyone getting hurt!" She took a bite from her sandwich and immediately spit it out, "Aw! This is Violet's!" She stuffed it back into her frilly lunchbox.

"Travis, I'm not one for violence, but you never know what may happen. Nothin's impossible, right?" Roxie smiled, eating Neopolitan ice cream out of a thermos meant for soup. She set down her plastic school spork to take the note back from Candy and set it in front of Travis. 

"Roxie's right! You never know what might happen, but whatever does, it's bound to be interesting, right?" Sapphire stuck out her tongue.

Roxie backhanded Sapphire in the chest and shot her a look.

"Sorry... But it's true..." Sapphire sucked on the straw of her chocolate milk.

"Listen, Trav'. I totally think you should go. Not for our popularity sake, but for yourself. I mean, if he wants to fight and you don't go, he would probs' be really angry... But if it's all romance-y or something like that and you don't go, then you missed a once in a lifetime opportunity to date Chaz McFreely." Zack mumbled, "Like - shit - I'm _straight_ and I'd give anything to be asked out by Chaz." He joked, "So if you don't wanna go, I'd gladly take your place."

"Same." Roxie and Sapphire agreed. 

Travis sighed and looked down at his lap. He sat for a long moment, his friends all leaning in and listening in anticipation.

...

He groaned,

"Alright. I'll go."

"Yay~!" Poppy exclaimed. 

"Ahh!" Sapphire and Roxie held each others' hands and squealed. Candy and Zack gave each other a look and fist-bumped from across the table.

"But-" 

"Awww..."

"Only if you guys are standing around. Like just out of earshot, but close enough to see if anything goes down. Just in case. Please...?" Travis pleaded.

"Of course! Almost anything that happens under the bleachers isn't good news, so even if you didn't ask, we were gonna be there anyway." Candy shrugged.

"Thanks, you guys. Just... don't eavesdrop." He insisted.

\---

"Did you hear? Chaz McFreely likes dudes now." She whispered.

"I know, Lyndsay. I know everything about everyone in this school." He replied.

"Did you know, Buddy?" Lyndsay asked. He didn't respond. She knocked him over the head, "Buddy!"

"What? Huh? Of course, I knew! Guillermo told me. And then Guillermo told everyone else. And then everyone else told _actually_ everyone else." A small bird landed on his shoulder and he happily fed it a piece of his sandwich.

**The most well-known kids in the school. They know _everyone_.**

**MC. The leader of their three-man group. He knows everything about everyone in the school. About the same social status at school as Chaz. But unlike Chaz, MC is actually nice to everyone.**

**Buddy. MC's right-hand man. He's the school gossip bank. He's not that bright, but he knows how to spread rumors like butter.**

**Lyndsay. The meanest of the three. She knows what she wants, and she always gets it. People flinch when she looks at them in the halls.**

"Did you hear that Chaz was gonna kiss Travis Scott?" Lyndsay asked, chewing her gum loudly.

"Okay, I seriously doubt that one, Lyndsay. Chaz bullies that guy every day." MC rolled his eyes in between bites.

"That's what people do in high school! They're mean to people they like!" Lyndsay protested.

"Is that why you bully Buddy every day?" MC snorted smugly.

"Now, you shut the hell up!" Lyndsay barked.

"What?" Buddy perked up, innocently.

"Nothing, Buddy. Just keep eating." MC responded, patting his friend lightly on the back. He turned back to Lyndsay, 

"Listen. I heard that Chaz McFreely gave Travis Scott a note in the halls today."

"And what source did you hear this from?" MC asked.

"The Cheerleaders." Lyndsay responded.

"Lyndsay, I've already told you this. The only group we can count on for credible information is the Loners, the kids in the library, the weird kids, and the Geeks. What were you even doing talking to the Cheerleaders?"

"I-I mean, Summer said 'hi' to me in the hallway... She seemed sort of mad, though." Lyndsay explained. MC gasped after a long silence,

"I know! What she said about Chaz giving Travis the note must've been true!" MC grinned out of satisfaction.

"What? How do you know?" Buddy asked, cocking his head to one side.

"The _entire_ school knows that Summer has a huge crush on Travis. What she never knew, though, was that Travis is _totally_ gay. So when she heard Chaz talking to Travis, she got totally jealous." MC declared, with a note a finality. 

"Wait. Travis is gay?" Buddy asked, pulling out a pen and paper, writing it down and giving it to his bird. His bird flew off into the courtyard to spread the word.

"Yes, Buddy. Everyone knew that but you and probs' just Summer." MC said, throwing his lunch in a nearby bin.

"Oh." Buddy whistled and called his bird back to his shoulder, "Thanks anyway, Guillermo." He pat Guillermo on the head.

"Hey! Look over at Travis' table!" MC pointed towards the mentioned table.

"Who is that?" Lyndsay asked.

"That's Summer Holiday and Liberty Lee. And they're talking to Travis...?" MC furrowed his eyebrows, squinting while trying to see.

"I'll go and eavesdrop!" Buddy insisted, immediately getting up and running over with a pen and paper in hand.

\---

"Um... hi." Summer sputtered out, quietly. He didn't even seem to notice her, "Uh... Travis...?" She tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh?" He turned around and looked up at her, standing directly over him, "Oh. Hi, Summer. I didn't see you there. Did you need something?"

"I-I was just wondering what Chaz was doing talking to you this morning?" She fiddled with her fingers, nervously.

"He gave me a note. Look, Summer, I-I mean... I'm flattered that you're concerned, but there's not really anything to be worried about. I'll be f-"

"That's not what I'm worried about!" Summer blurted out, immediately covering her mouth after she said it. Her eyes widened and her face turned a bright shade of red, glancing nervously over at Liberty. Travis' eyebrows furrowed,

"Wh- I'm sorry, I don't understand. What do you mean? Chaz j-"

"I don't want him to like you!" Summer interrupted him.

"What?! What does that have anything to do with this?" Travis yelped in embarrassment, "Chaz doesn't like me!"

Summer's face burned bright. She stood in front of Travis with her hands over her face for a few seconds before looking up, bursting into tears, and running out of the school cafeteria with a trail of cheerleaders chasing after her.

"Summer!" Liberty yelled and ran after her.

"Wait!" Travis half-stood up from the bench, "Summer, wait!" He turned back to his friends at the table, "I-I'm sorry, guys. I gotta..." He gestured to the direction that Summer ran.

"Yeah, yeah! Go!" Candy pushed him.

"Hurry!" Roxie exclaimed.

"Right." Travis sighed and took off after Summer. He burst through the cafeteria doors, the bright sun shining into the courtyard burning his eyes. "Summer!" He frantically looked around for her, "Summer!" 

"Travis, she went into the bathroom because she knew you couldn't go in... I tried to get her out." Liberty appeared next to him with a sad look on her face.

"If she thinks that'll stop me, she's got another thing coming, then!" He huffed, running across the commons into the girls' restroom.

"Summer!" His voice echoes off the walls. He heard her frantic voice from inside the last stall,

"What are you even doing in here?! This is the _girls'_ bathroom!" It sounded like she was crying.

"Summer, please tell me what's going on." Travis knocked on the stall door as one last attempt to get her to talk to him.

"Just leave me alone, Travis... I'm embarrassed enough as it is." She sniffled.

"What's there to be embarrassed about?" He sat on the ground outside the stall door, pretty much accepting that she wouldn't open it at this point.

"You heard what I said..." Summer sobbed.

_I don't want him to like you!_

"God, I'm so selfish!"

"There's nothing embarrassing about wanting something. Selfishness is part of human nature." Travis sighed, barely above a whisper.

"Yeah... I guess so. I just- Lately I've been feeling like such a terrible person! Like a bitch. Almost everything I've ever asked for I've gotten, and the one time I don't get something I want, I throw a fit like some two-year-old." Summer stifled a sob.

"And why do you hate yourself for that? I mean, it's normal."

"Do you _really_ want the truth, Travis? Because here's the truth," She asked, anger seeping into her voice, "I've had the fattest crush on you since the sixth grade when I transferred here. And from the moment I saw you..." She sobbed, "I knew I didn't deserve you. And I _knew_ you were going to find someone better than me. Hell, I _just_ found out that you were gay _today_ , Travis. And then to top it all off, I find out that literally... everyone in the school knew except for me?" Travis could hear her tears hitting the tile floor. "Why is life so cruel...?"

"Sometimes... Things in life fly right over your head and you don't even notice... Until it's too late." Travis sighed. He really didn't even know what he was saying at this point. He just wanted to sound inspirational, "Especially cheerleaders."

There was a long silence.

...

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"N- Oh, that didn't come out right... I-I didn't mean it like 'cheerleaders are stupid'. I-I-I'm sorry I meant it like... cus' they... y'know. Throw each other in the air...?" He blinked, shifting awkwardly on the floor, "I'll stop talking now."

Summer laughed quietly despite the situation, "Heh... Right."

"Look, if there's anything I can do to - like - cheer you up or something. Anything at all, you know where to find me." Travis hoisted himself onto his feet and started towards the door.

"Wait." He heard the stall door swing open, turning around to see Summer. Her eyes were red and swollen, dried tears in streaks down her face. Her mascara and eyeliner dripped, washing away her foundation underneath. "There is _one_ thing."

\---

"She wants you to _what_?"

"She just wants me to go to her cheer tryouts." Travis shrugged, "No big deal."

"Are you kidding me? When you get there, she's totally going to make you try out! Haven't you heard? The cheer squad had been looking for a male cheerleader." Candy responded.

"Why me?"

"You're the perfect candidate! Cute, short, skinny - not to be hair color racist, but - blonde, and you have a cute accent that girls really dig." Candy laughed.

Travis hummed indifferently, "I don't think my accent's cute... I like American accents like yours and-"

"Chaz McFreely's?" Candy interrupted.

"I was going to say Roxie. But Chaz works too."

"We're talkin' about Roxie? Gotta love that gal." Travis turned to see Rusty appear out of nowhere. He sighed in the back of his throat and pretended he didn't notice.

"Yeah, I know right? Say, Rusty, where'd'ya know Roxie from?" Candy pitched in.

"Ah, we used to go to the same school back down at Cowboy Junction before it closed. A shame, too. A real sweet place, that Cowboy Junction. Our older folks still live back down there."

"Hey. Rusty." Travis turned to him, "You know you talk a lot?"

"Uh. Guess not? Should I go? I'll just... Bye, guys." He waved, wandering off into another group of friends.

"Travis! What was that about?" Candy pouted, "You're never mean like that."

"I used to go around with Rusty a while back. Let's just change the subject-"

"Wait, you used to 'go around with him'? Like... date?" Candy leaned over as they rounded the corner of the outer brick wall bordering the campus.

"I told you, let's just change the subject... Oh, look! The football field! I hope everyone's gotten there already." Travis glanced down at his watch as if it would help, seeing as the note simply read "After sixth period", which it was.

"Ohmygod. Travis, there he is." Candy subtley pointed to Chaz casually standing under the bleachers in the distance, preoccupied on his phone.

"Can you see everyone else?" Travis asked.

"Yeah. Roxie and Sapph' are on the very end of the bleachers at the top. See? There." She pointed, the very opposite end of where Chaz stood, "Poppy is picking flowers along the perimeter to not look suspicious." Candy pointed to the mentioned Poppy, with a fistful of weeds, "Finally, Zack and I will be playing catch with the football."

"American football." Travis teased.

"You're so stupid." She laughed, "Okay, you ready, Trav'?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."


	4. Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis blows.
> 
> Chaz gives a second chance.
> 
> Travis blows again.
> 
> Travis just blows.
> 
> Confrontation time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this note is freaking important so it's going at the beginning and the end
> 
> i just thought about how if poppy and roxie were shipped together their name would be pop rocks and i think i'm so fucking hilarious i can't--
> 
> i don't even ship them but just because of the ship name i might just have to make it a thing now

"Alright. Remember what we talked about?" Candy asked, handing him the note.

"Confessing... or running away as soon as he throws the first punch?"

"Confessing." She scoffed, "Listen, Trav'. You're gonna be fine. I swear to you."

"Candy! Look at him!" Travis gestured to Chaz standing under the bleachers, cracking his knuckles, "He's cracking the knuckles on his left hand! _Everyone_ knows that's his punching hand!" He whined.

"Travis, stop being such a drama queen. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were Trevor Verily." She crossed her arms.

"Don't compare me to him..." Travis rolled his eyes.

"You're gonna be fine! Just go!" She began pushing Travis across the grassy opening towards the field. He attempted to plant his heels in place, but they simply just drug through the dirt beneath. The closer they got, the more he was filled with a dreaded feeling that this encounter was _not_ going to be a good one.

"Candy, stop!" He blurted out, stepping out of her path. He held his arms stiffly at his sides, "I can't do this! Just- Tell Chaz I'm sorry. I have to go!" His breath quivered before he ran away.

"Travis, wait! You can't just-!" Her voice faded away as he disappeared behind the brick wall again, "Leave..." She groaned to herself and rubbed her temples, "I am going to kill that boy." Candy gazed over at Chaz, who - at this point - spotted her. She gave him a short, frightened wave and began to slowly trudge over to him. She ducked under the bleachers.

"Who're you?" He scowled, spitting on the ground and putting his phone in his back pocket.

"Uhm... I'm Candy-"

"What kinda name is that?"

"I-I'm trying to be a DJ."

"Oh. 'Kay."

"Look, Travis sent me." She explained. Halfway through her sentence, she decided to try to appeal more to Chaz's point of view, "Yeah. He's sort of a total pussy, so he started crying."

"Ain't that the truth. The bitch."

"He said he's sorry or whatever." She said nonchalantly. Candy thought of a way to probably not get beaten up, "Didn't wanna hurt your feelings or something."

"At least. Tch. If you see 'im first, just let him know I'm _not_ gonna beat him up. I'm outta here." Chaz took off his school uniform blazer and swung it over his shoulder, walking over to the dorm buildings, "Peace, Supergroove."

**Supergroove, huh. She liked that name.**

**Wait! Travis!**

She quickly rounded up all of their friends from their positions across the field,

"Sapphire, Zack, you two go check the dormitories. Roxie and Poppy, you look in the courtyard. Me... I'll check his favorite hiding spot. Alright, everyone, go!" She yelled and they all broke off, running every which way.

\---

He sat under the stairs on the first floor of the boy's dorm building. He'd run all around the campus trying to find a good place to cry in peace. He heard low humming coming from further down the empty tiled hallway. A dorm room door opened and a person's voice emerged,

"'Sup, McFreely."

The humming stopped, "Hey, Luke."

**Oh no.**

Travis immediately stopped breathing. He did _not_ want Chaz to know that he was crying under the stairs. That would ruin his whole high school career. The humming began again and Travis waited silently until it faded away back down the hall. He didn't want to talk to Chaz today. In fact, not at all. Travis attempted to recall the conversation he had with Candy earlier that day,

-

_"Okay Travis. Here's the deal." Candy held two white paper bookmarks in either hand. One had red colored pencil scribbled across the top and the other had yellow highlighter drawn in streaks across the top._  
_"This is you." She held the one covered in yellow highlighter forward._  
_"This one is Chaz McFreely." She held the opposite red one forward. "You're gonna say this:" She began doing a terrible English accent, "'Hey Chaz we should totally date and stuff because I'm in love with you and stuff.'" "Then he's gonna go:" She lowered her voice to the point where she almost couldn't speak, "'Okay cool. Now that I'm bi I'll totally just date the guy I bully." She then proceeded to crumple up the paper Travis and paper Chaz, then mash them together into one ball, throwing it into the bin behind her._

_"That was representative of you two kissing if you couldn't tell."_

_"Yeah. I could tell." He responded monotonously._

_"So... Will you do it?"_

_"Date Chaz McFreely?" He furrowed his brows as she shook her head "yes" excitedly._

_..._

_"No! I could never!" He pulled at his hair with his hands._

_"Okay, fine. I knew you might say that, so I came up with a better idea. Staging a relationship."_

_"And what difference is that from actually dating?"_

_"That it's not real! You just have to make people **think** it's real." Candy explained._

_"I'm not following. What good would fake dating do either of us?" Travis asked, going on his phone._

_" **We** could become popular. And **he** -" Presumably referring to Chaz, "Would get a bunch of support from being... woke or... whatever- Look, you have to do it!" Candy pleaded._

_"..." Travis groaned, "I'll think about it."_

_Candy began to cheer,_

_"But that doesn't mean I'll do it!"_

_"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, can you play your turn already. It's been, like, ten minutes now."_

_He laughed quietly, "Sure."_

-

God, that conversation felt like forever ago... Even if it _was_ just a few hours before. He sighed loudly, hoping no one was passing by and slowly got up to his feet, ducking out from under the stairs.

"What the hell were you doing under the stairs?" A cold voice spoke, resounding off the lonely walls.

Travis began to stiffly turn around,

**Oh. Oh no. Please please please please don't be-**

"Ch-Chaz! Wh-Wh-Wh- I mean- You- I- What... What... heh, are you doing here?" Travis gazed nervously up at Chaz who stood on the first landing of the flight of stairs.

"What does it look like I'm doing, dipshit? I'm going to my dorm. Where the hell were you after sixth just now?" Chaz demanded, taking off his sunglasses and hanging them on the front of his uniform's shirt. His aloof brown eyes seemed to stare right through Travis' own.

Travis spluttered much alike a dying car engine, to which Chaz precariously raised a curious eyebrow.  
"I- Um... I-I'm sorry. I had important... stuff." Travis coughed.

"Yeah..." Chaz leaned over the railing and looked down at Travis' previous hiding spot, "Hiding under a flight of stairs in the boy's dorm building seems important." He scoffed, "Fucking dipshit." He began to climb the rest of the stairs.

"Chaz, wait!" Travis called.

"Fuck off, loser." Chaz flipped him off without even looking back before disappearing up the stairs. Before Travis could chase after him, a small slip of paper fell through the railing of the stairs, landing in front of his feet. He looked back up to see nothing. Travis sighed, kneeling down and picking up the paper.

**Maybe he dropped it? It might be his class schedule.**

Travis warily unfolded the piece of paper and immediately began sweating. It read:

_"you get one more chance. meet me in the auditorium at 10pm tonight. if you miss it, youre dead, dipshit."_

Travis' heart began to beat fast. Out of fear, of course. Ten at night was past the school's curfew. Being caught outside past ten could get him detention or even suspended... But if he didn't go... Chaz would for sure destroy his whole life. He hurriedly shuffled his way up the stairs. Once he reached the second-floor hall, he looked left down the hallway and just caught Chaz entering his dorm some ways down. Travis sighed, turning right - the opposite way - towards his own dormitory. He opened his dorm's door, which was a mere three doors down. Travis was immediately greeted by the cold face of Preston Winthrop, looking down from atop his bed with a face full of disdain.

"Oh. It's just you. Hey, I'm leaving out past curfew tonight. If you tell anyone, you're dead meat, fuckface." Preston snapped, his eyes drifting across each of his fingernails in a close examination. 

"I prefer 'dipshit' but okay." Travis scoffed sarcastically, throwing his phone onto his bed across the room, "I'm going out tonight too, anyways. So you don't tell, I won't tell." He climbed up the ladder onto his bed and laid down, face stuffed into his pillow. 

"Wow. A loser like you actually has friends?" Preston climbed down his own bed's ladder and crossed the room, observing and picking things up from the desk under Travis' bed. Preston always did that. He touched things that weren't his, but they were always yours. And when you tried to touch _his_ stuff, he'd curse and then accuse you of trying to steal it. Preston picked up a case of screen protectors for Travis' model of phone. He typically gave them to his friends when their phone screen inevitably cracked. "'The hell is this?"

"Stop touching my stuff." Travis hung his head upside-down off the side of his bed, being met face-to-face with his dormmate.

"We're dormmates. You requested to room with me over any of your other options." Preston retorted, snarkily.

**Yeah, that's only because my other options were Ray: who hates the world, and Chaz: who hates me.**

"Yeah. You're right, Preston." Travis responded in mock kindness, "How inconsiderate of me."

"Watch yourself, Scott." 

Travis tutted quietly at the less-than-affectionate nickname.

"You know what? I'm going out early." Travis hoisted himself off his bed, grabbing his uniform's blazer off the bedpost. "Don't break Beebee's heart. Let her down gently." He cautioned, heading towards the door.

"Wait, how the hell did you know I was going to break up with Beebee?" Preston became defensive, clutching his arm nervously.

"It's pretty obvious, I think. Or maybe I'm just good at reading people... Who knows?" Travis shrugged with a smug grin stretched across his face, "Bye, now." Travis swung the heavy door open and shut it behind him, hearing Preston growl silently under his breath as he left. Once he was out in the hallway he pulled out his phone, immediately going on his many different social media accounts as he walked.

**4:34 PM**

**beebee_thebunnyprincess**

A picture posted by Beebee was the first thing on his feed. She was at some type of theme park with her family, smiling brightly. The caption read:

**"happy birthday to me!!! <3 <3 <3 can't wait to see you tonight preston! <3" - Posted 3 Hours Ago **

That explains why she wasn't in any of her classes earlier that day. But... Jesus. Have Preston no heart? Dumping someone on their own birthday is the meanest thing you could possibly do as a present. He scrolled further down as he descended the stairs and sat down in one of the common rooms on the first floor.

**lliberty1**

It was a picture taken from the bleachers in the gym. The camera was zoomed in on a few girls in a very blurry cheer squad formation. One was very clearly Summer and another Poppy - who didn't look nearly as skilled. 

**"Watching the first day of cheer tryouts! Go, Summer!!!! :)" - Posted 10 Minutes Ago**

So Summer really _did_ want Travis to tryout for the cheer team. I mean, why would she invite him to watch her tryouts if she already did the day before? He'd have to find a way to tell her he couldn't. He heard someone come in the dormitory's front doors, passing behind the couch he sat on.

"Oh, ow!" 

Travis sat up and looked behind him. A boy fell face-first into the floor.

"Oh, dude, are you okay?!" Travis scrambled to his feet and held out his hand. The boy laughed through the pain. He had white hair and wore a pale green beanie on the back of his head. He wore a white windbreaker jacket and grey pants that were much too long for him, dragging under his heels.

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine. Thank you." He took Travis' hand and pulled himself up.

"Woah! Are you new here? I don't think I've ever seen you around before." 

"N... Uh, no. I'm not new here. I just don't get out much. I-I'm um... My names TOBOR...?"

"T-Tobor?"

"Yeah... Weird, I know. It's 'robot' backward. My inv- uh- My _dad's_ weird like that. He's a weird robot fanatic." Tobor stuck his hands nervously in his pockets.

"Wait, are you Dr. F's son? The crazy chemistry teacher that everyone's scared of?" Travis laughed. He didn't really laugh because he thought it was funny, though. It was more out of wonder. Tobor covered his face with his hands out of embarrassment,

"Uh... Y-Yup... That's the one."

"That's super cool! I.. Guess? I dunno. _Is_ it cool? Like, being his son? Has he ever actually made, like, a working robot? I think that would be cool as hell." Travis smiled excitedly.

"What? W- I don't know? Why would you ask me that? I wouldn't know. It's not like I-I like I know- I'm..." He sighed, "Sorry. I'm a generally nervous person."

Travis laughed it off, "It's fine. Me too."

"Well, sorry to hold you up. I'm sure you have more important places to be." Travis patted Tobor lightly on the shoulder.

"Actually, no. Not really. I came to the dorms to escape Dr. F's stupid insanity for once. He thinks I'm fetching him spare parts right now." Tobor laughed as if it was the most evil thing to ever been done, "I usually help him build the robots. It's really cool, actually. A lot of people don't think so."

"Really? I think technology is fascinating." Travis insisted, taking a seat back on the couch.

\---  
An Hour and a Half of Playing UNO and Talking About Robots Later...  
\---

"-and then, after that, I told Makoto that she didn't stand a chance!"

The two laughed together before Travis looked up, out the window and noticed a red tint beginning to form at the very bottom of the horizon. He checked his phone. It was blown up with texts in a group chat,

-

**5:50 PM**

**candy: alright guys!! i'm downstairs in the courtyard! get ur asses down here!!!**

**poppy: coming! :D**

**sapph: just finishing up getting ready**

**zack: i'm already outside on the field! be in the courtyard in a few mins!**

**rox: Heading down now!**

-

**6:01 PM**

**candy: trav where r u???? we need to go!!! we wont be able to go to the movie AND dinner before curfew if u dont hurry up!!!!!!!**

"Oh, shit. Hey, uh, Tobor? I-I really have to go, now. My friends and I have this thing where every Friday we go to the movies and dinner a-and stuff..." Travis stuttered, "And I'm already late... so-"

"No, it's totally fine. Go ahead. I wouldn't want to make your friends mad or anything." Tobor smiled politely and waved goodbye to Travis.

"Thanks so much! Bye!"

\---

"You were talking to Dr. F's son? I didn't even know he _had_ a son. Isn't he a little too old? He's, like, eighty years old or something." Candy talked from behind the steering wheel of Travis' car.

"Candy, don't be rude." Travis giggled, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, Trav. I saw Chaz McFreely on the second floor of the dorms a few minutes ago. He told me to call you a dork." Zack snickered, "So... You're a dork."

"Zack!" Roxie chided, slapping him on the arm.

"Oh yeah, speaking of Chaz. Trav', you planning on actually talking to him any time soon? Y'know. The _plan_ …?" Candy drawled, parking the car in a lot.

"He actually gave me... a note. I-I think I still have it on me..." Travis said, patting down his pockets, "Oh, yeah." Realizing he didn't have time to change out of his uniform before they'd left, he found the note in his shirt's pocket, "H-Here." He handed the note to Candy nervously. She read out the note loudly in an exaggerated voice,

"'You get one more chance... Meet me in the auditorium at 10 PM tonight...?! If you miss it... _you're dead, dipshit!_ " She winced and quickly handed the note back to Travis, "Travis, you're gonna get in trouble!" Candy wailed. 

Travis groaned, "Candy, can we just go to dinner?" He whined, "We can talk about notes that may or may not be death threats later."

"Yeah! Let's go! If we're at dinner too long then we'll miss our movie!" Sapphire sang, kicking open the a door of the car, hopping out.

\---

"That movie was so shit." Zack laughed as they walked out of the theater.

"Agreed. Like, they said they couldn't escape the zombies because they run faster than humans, but in the next scene they totally just outran the zombies!" Sapphire scoffed.

"And Steve said he trained for months at shooting a crossbow, but misses every single shot! The movie had absolutely no consistency!" Travis imitated shooting an invisible crossbow in slow motion.

"At least it was funny." Poppy smiled.

"Yeah. Although it was a 'so-bad-that-it's-funny' funny." Roxie agreed. Candy laughed and pulled out her phone,

"Oh, shit! Guys, we have to get back! Now!" Candy yelped, making a dash for the car.

"What?! Why?" Sapphire ran after her, followed closely by the rest of their friends.

"It's 9:57 right now! We're gonna be caught out after curfew!" Candy yelled back.

"Fuck!" Travis blurted out, "Step on the gas, Candy! Chaz is gonna beat my ass if I'm not in the auditorium at ten!" He screeched, launching himself into the passenger seat.

"On it! Everyone in!" She yelled as everyone continued to pile into the back seat.

\---

He burst through the doors of the auditorium after quickly seeing his friends off at the dorms. He panted heavily as he stood in the doorway. The auditorium was completely dark, Travis couldn't even see where Chaz was. Or even _if_ he was there. He pulled out his phone and shined the flashlight on the ground as he walked down the descending aisle. He slowly and carefully climbed the steps onto the stage before the work lights flicked on.

"Ah!" He shielded his eyes from the sudden light. As his sight adjusted, he spotted Chaz behind the curtains, leaning against one of the levers.

"So you _did_ show up." Chaz grunted, taking off his sunglasses. He walked out from behind the curtains and stood across from Travis.

"Uh... Yeah. S-Sorry. My friends and I watch a movie and eat dinner with each other every Friday, a-and today's Friday so... y'know, of course I couldn't miss it or else- Y-Y'know, that'd just be rude of me-"

"Shut up."

"Right."

Chaz sighed heavily and crossed his arms, "I have a proposition. But, if you refuse, I'll make your life a living hell, so it's basically a command."

"Um... O-Okay. I-I actually had something to say too, but-"

"Yeah, I'm better. So I talk first." Chaz barked.

"Uh- 'Kay." Travis squeaked.

"I'm not gonna beat up the fucking tree- Or whatever the saying is."

"Beat around the bush-"

"Did I say you could talk?"

"Uh. N-No."

"Anyways. I'm not gonna beat around the bush like I know _you_ would." He spit on the stage, "You're a loser. I'm cool and popular. You're gonna-"

"Um... Pretend to date you to get cred?" Travis' face slowly turned a dark shade of red.

"How the hell did you know wh-"

"I mean, i-it's pretty obvious. Since I'm already gay, people are more likely to believe it. And I-I heard your fangirls - or whatever - in the hall the other day. They think you're all cool 'cus of l-like... I dunno. Stereotypes and... stuff?" Travis explained slowly, covering his blushing face with his hands.

"Exactly. So you're gonna do it or else I'm gonna ruin the rest of your high school career. You're not gonna tell anyone it's fake, and you're not gonna fucking tell anyone that I don't actually like dudes. Got it?" 

"U-Uhm…" Travis thought about it. Did he really want to pretend to date Chaz McFreely…? He felt weird dating a straight guy who was pretending to be bi for weird clout... Would anyone even believe it was real? Would he end up spilling to his friends that the relationship wasn't real? And the worst question of all...

What if Travis ended up catching real feelings for Chaz...?

"Okay. Got it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this note is freaking important so it's going at the beginning and the end
> 
> i just thought about how if poppy and roxie were shipped together their name would be pop rocks and i think i'm so fucking hilarious i can't--
> 
> i don't even ship them but just because of the ship name i might just have to make it a thing now


	5. Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The deal is set.
> 
> Chaz and Travis actually sort of begin to get along...
> 
> But hate each other just as soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why did this chapter take me so long to get out????
> 
> even i don't know the answer

Chaz stuck his right hand out,  
"Shake on it."

Travis felt his heart racing. This was it. This would seal the deal. He would have to pretend to be Chaz's boyfriend from now until... well... who-knows-when?!

"Isn't it a little weird that you're actually straight and you're pretending to be gay...? Couldn't that be offensive to other people if they ever found out?" Travis asked.

"Hell no. As long as everyone thinks it's cool."

**How terrible is Chaz's common sense...?**

Travis furrowed his eyebrows in concern before slowly taking ahold of Chaz's hand. Chaz's hands were rough and calloused, presumably from all of his stuntman-ish tricks he did all the time. Not that Travis ever watched them. They gave him anxiety. Chaz shook their hands once, very hard, sending the force shooting up through Travis' arm and popping his shoulder joint.

"Ow." He rubbed his arm, "Jesus... Firm handshake."

"I know. It's one of my many good qualities."

Travis seriously couldn't tell if he was joking.

"Ah... How many good qualities do you think you have? Really." Travis asked, curiously.

"Well, I'm hot. And I'm popular... and-" Chaz paused, clearing his throat, "And I-" He stuttered, getting frustrated, "I mean, I _know_ I have fucking _millions_ of good qualities, okay? That's why girls love me so much."

"Because you're hot and popular?"

Chaz hissed through his teeth, looking down at his feet, "Shut the fuck up..." His voice broke, "You shut the fuck up, Scott!" He ran his hands quickly through his spiky red hair, "God, I don't even know why I ever trusted you in the first place!" Chaz growled, shoving his shades back onto his face, "Y-You're gonna go around telling everyone what a fucking piece of shit I am. I know it." Chaz whispered to himself, "I fucking know it!" He roared before turning on his heel and hastening backstage.

"Ch-Chaz-?"

Travis flinched his eyes closed as he was immediately silenced by the loud _slam_ of the metal doors backstage that reverberated in his ears. Once the ringing came to a stop, he slowly opened his eyes. He realized how tense his body was and sighed, rubbing at his eyes with the backs of his hands. He walked to the door that Chaz exited out of, flipping off the lights on his way out. He sighed as he pushed open the heavy metal door before being met face to face with the Headmistress Rosalyn casting a shadow over his whole form.

"Travis Scott. What exactly are you doing out past curfew?" She crossed her arms, suspiciously. Travis glanced around nervously, not seeing anyone else in sight. He stuttered quietly under his breath, tugging timidly at the sleeves of his uniform's blazer.

"I..." He choked out, "I-I was..." He looked up decisively, "I was actually looking for you, Headmistress." 

"Why would you be searching for me this late at night?" She raised an eyebrow, gazing down at his frantic dark eyes.

"To-" Travis searched his mind for a reason that would excuse breaking curfew, "To schedule a meeting with you for Monday! I... I, uh, can't meet with you over the weekend because of..." _Excuses, Travis... Think of a generic excuse that anyone would believe!_ "I have an important... date! Yeah, an important date that I can't miss."

"A date." Ms. Rosalyn deadpanned.

"Yep! With destiny!"

"Fine. A meeting in my office on Monday at 10 AM." Ms. Rosalyn responded.

"Uh... Thanks! ... Well... I gotta go! Bye, Ms. Rosalyn!" He squeaked, hopping and running away in the general direction of the boy's dormitory building. He could hear the headmistress attempting to call him back, but her pleading soon faded away into the distance.

**I can't believe Chaz really ratted me out to the Headmistress... Especially since I'm literally doing him the biggest favor of all time!** Travis thought to himself as he pulled open the glass doors of the dormitory building. He was immediately greeted by the unnaturally cold air of the common room. He shivered, listening to the door quietly swing shut behind him. He pulled his blazer tighter around his body as he walked down the dark, empty halls. Every single light in the hallways was off, making it extremely hard for Travis to see. He felt around, eventually finding the railing of the stairs that led to the second floor. He tripped a couple of times going up, but eventually made it to the doorknob of his dorm. He pulled out his key and turning it in the hole, the inside of his dorm being much more room temperature than the halls (although, he wasn't quite sure why the halls were so cold, as it was the dead of September). He slammed the door shut behind him, and almost stumbled over something that looked like it'd been slid under the door. It donned a large orange sticky note covered with familiar handwriting that was written in bold Sharpie. The sticky note simply said, " _TRAVIS_ ", underlined. Travis picked it up and turned the note over, " _TRAVIS ONLY - FUCK OFF WINTHROP_ ". Laughing silently, Travis thanked the universe that Preston wasn't back yet (and was likely to get in trouble). Travis plucked off a second sticky note,

" _heres ur phone under these post its. find out what i did with it, bitch. also ur face is fugly._ " 

Confusion was plastered on Travis' face, but he couldn't help but laugh nonetheless. He peeled off the sticky notes, and sure enough, his phone sat on the ground there. He turned it on, observing the lock screen. Immediately, he saw the only current notification was from Chaz,

**chaz: if ur winthrop fuck off**

Travis unlocked his phone,

**travis: So you put ur number on my phone??? That's what u got me in trouble for?**

**chaz: surprised u didnt notice ur phone was gone sooner. i pickpocketed u when we shook hands.**

**travis: Yeah thanks a lot for that. Now I have a meeting with Rosalyn on Monday at 10am.. wth is wrong with you?? seriously. why**

**chaz: cuz ur a bitch. im not just hot and popular,, im athletic too**

Travis furrowed his eyebrows with a smile, climbing up and plopping himself onto his bed,

**travis: Since when did u start making jokes???? We're making jokes now?**

**chaz: no fuck off. your a fucking loser and a nerd.**

**travis: *you're**

**chaz: just proving my point for me**

Travis rolled his eyes and looked at his previous notifications, most of them being from Candy.

**candy: trav!! you there, dude?**

**travis: Hi Candy**

**candy: hey!! so.. how'd it go, dude?**

**travis: Long story short he asked me to be his fake boyfriend before I could even talk O.O**

**candy: what?! niice!! so?? what'd you say, dude?**

**travis: You say dude too much...**

**candy: c'mon!! i'm tryna make it my thing, dude!! spill the beans!!**

**travis: I,,, said yeah.**

**candy: WA+JH++AT??!!??!! awesome, dude!!**

**travis: But you can't tell ANYONE it's fake!!! Chaz would KILL me**

**candy: will do, dude!! nice work!! ;D**

Travis groaned and threw himself back off of his bed, digging through the closet he and Preston were forced to share and changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. He slammed the light switch down, covering the whole room in pitch-black darkness, except for a small stream of white moonlight filtering in through the half-open blinds over the window. Travis rubbed his eyes, setting his phone down on his desk under his bunk and plugged it in. He climbed up the ladder and burrowed himself under his blankets, turning over in an attempt to fall asleep.

He began to regret his decision of agreeing to this whole thing... How much trouble would he get in if people other than Candy eventually found out? No... Not eventually. _Inevitably_. Chaz cannot possibly be down to fake being gay for more than a week or so... right? And even if he _was_ , it couldn't be that convincing... _right_?! Needless to say, Travis was now in deep, deep shit.

\---

"Good morning, sleeping beauty. Sleep well?" He saw a familiar energetic face peering over his bed.

"Candy, I told you to stop sneaking through the window on Saturdays." Travis murmured groggily.

"I just came to tell you that Sapph' and Zack wanna hang out today. They _also_ ~ wanna know what's 'going on' with you and Chaz. Hee hee!" She giggled.

"Candy... What time is it? Um, check my phone. It should be on my desk under my-"

"10:23 AM." She smirked.

"Thanks." He turned back over in his bed, facing the wall instead of Candy, "Ugh... I just-" He scrubbed his face tiredly with his hand, "I just don't really feel like hanging out with Sapphire or Zack this morning... They're just so... energetic. And morning people."

"That's okay! I knew you'd say no, so I rescheduled for tonight at midnight! But...~!"

"Of course there's a catch..."

"I was talkin' to Chaz McFreely…" She drawled,

"Ughhh! _Candy_!" Travis shrieked, covering his head with his pillow.

"Not to brag or anything, but... He thinks I'm pretty rad. You two are going out today at lunch." Candy stated, looking fairly proud of herself.

"What?! And you didn't even, like, wh- _Consult_ me first?!" Travis sat up straight in his bed, "Besides! If we're not actually dating, _why would we have to go on a date?!_ "

"Chaz and I planned very accordingly. You're gonna arrive at exactly noon. Take the train. You're going to Main Street. Poppy should be there picking flowers in the park or something, but you have to avoid her. She can't know yet. Don't worry, Trav', this is all part of our plan. Are you following along? Yes or no."

"No. But I know you're not going to stop, so just keep going."

"Okay. Main Street. Noon. Meet Chaz in front of Old Gino's pizza place." Candy explained.

"Okay...? Seems easy enough. I mean, I'm already there basically every Saturday at noon anyways. But... Why are we doing this, again?" Travis began to climb down the ladder of his bed, shaking out his extreme bedhead.

"I know that Chaz's fan club hangs out on Main Street around that time since I DJ'd for this sick rooftop party down the road about two weeks ago and then another one the week after that. I also hear things in the girl's bathroom." Candy grinned cockily, handing Travis an outfit she'd already planned out for him. He rolled his eyes,

"And how does this involve me, exactly?"

"Chaz wants his fans to think that you two are dating as soon as possible so word spreads around before school rolls up on Monday. You two are in charge of starting the rumors, and I'm in charge of spreading them!" She declared, hands on her hips in a confident pose. He slipped into the closet to change, leaving the door open so they could still hear each other.

"Candy, this is so stupid... It's inevitable that people are going to find out this is fake. Chaz has never mentioned anything- not even once - about even remotely liking guys!" The outfit Candy gave him was one he'd never seen before. She'd given him black knee-length overalls and a yellow t-shirt.

"Candy, are these literally Roxie's clothes?!" Travis yelled.

"Um... Yeah? But I thought they'd look cute on you, so I stole them from our closet!" Travis trudged out from the closet with an annoyed look on his face, "See, Trav'?! You look _so_ good! Even if they are Roxie's clothes..." 

"Whatever... Can you just hand me my comb?" He reached his hand out and she tossed it, landing it perfectly in his palm, "Thanks." He turned around and looked in the full-length mirror stuck on the back of his dorm's door. While he was combing through his light blonde hair, Candy scrolled through her phone while spinning around lazily in his desk chair. She gasped loudly, 

"How did I not know this?!" 

"What is it?" He asked, glancing at her shocked face through the mirror.

"Preston broke up with Beebee last night! I thought they were totally in love...!" She began to type something. Travis laughed cynically,

"Hunh. Yeah right. I was the first to find out. Their relationship was so obviously fake." His eye caught Preston's empty bed on the opposite side of the room, "Hey, uh... Speaking of... Have you seen Preston around?"

"Uhhh... Beats me. Probably caught past curfew last night or somethin'." She rolled over to Preston's desk and shuffled through his items. Crumpled up notes from Beebee, a dead laptop, some sticks of gum, "Ooh, gum." Candy unwrapped a piece and stuck it in her mouth, chewing loudly.

"Time?" Travis asked, tossing his comb onto a shelf in the closet.

"Um," She rolled back over to Travis' desk, turning over his phone and pressing the home button, "10:34."

"Thanks." He ran his fingers through his hair one last time before turning around and facing Candy, "How do I look?" He held out his arms.

"Cute. Why do you care? Fake date. Remember?" Candy snickered, causing Travis' face to fade into pink. He chewed on his thumbnail.

"O-Uh... Y-Yeah! Pft, I knew that. Gross. I don't actually like Chaz McFreely. That's just gross." He cleared his throat with his eyebrows furrowed. He snatched his phone from his desk, "Do you wanna go raid the vending machines before I have to catch the train to Main Street?" Travis pointed behind him with his thumb to the door.

Candy shrugged, "Sure." She smiled, pushing herself out of Travis' rolling office chair.

\---

They sat in the ground floor common room of the boy's dormitory, chewing on gum and drinking pop cans.

"Travis, you'd better get going soon. It's nearly time for the 11:30 train to Main Street." Candy spoke between loud chews of gum. He picked his phone up, 

"Aw, shoot. You're right." It was nearly 11:30 by then. He rolled off the couch reluctantly, dropping all of the snacks that they'd cheated from the vending machines. "I don't wanna." He lay on the carpeted floor, face down.

"Come on, Trav'!" Candy wailed, throwing an empty pop can at his head, "Do you know how long we've been waiting for this?!"

"Waiting for what, exactly?" He huffed, sitting up, "We haven't been _waiting_ for anything. You've just been wishing!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ever since you lost your old school and your old friends, you've wanted to be popular here." Travis said, "I know you just want to be seen as popular!" He moaned.

"Well... Yeah. Doesn't everyone?" She furrowed her brows together as she gazed over at him. Her face was sad.

"I-" He swallowed, looking down in contemplation. "I mean I guess so. Like, I'm not actively searching to become popular, but I guess deep down everyone truly _does_ just... want to fit in."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Candy sprang up from her seat, "Well, no time for wallowing and brooding, my dear friend! It's time for you to go!" She smiled, patting him on the back and giving him a hand up to his feet.

"Right. Yeah." He laughed quietly, checking his phone.

**summer: r u gonna show up to cheer tryouts tonight???**

He began to chew on his nail, nervously,

"Yeah. Yeah, um. I'm off."

\---

He sat alone in the empty train car to Main Street. He was the only person sitting in there. He stared out the window and observed the construction site near town, a sure sign that the train was close to the stop. He ran a hand through his short red hair, adjusting his sunglasses on his nose. The lenses of his shades were tinted blue, which honestly made it difficult to see, but he didn't really care. He didn't really care about anything at all. He spat on the floor near his feet as the train stopped, flinging him into a pole meant for standing people on the train. He groaned, standing up and exiting the train as familiar faces entered. Rusty and his ex-girlfriend Ginny stepped into the train. Rusty gave Chaz a small wave before the doors closed behind them. Although Rusty and Ginny broke up a while back, she just wouldn't let things become awkward between them and remained best friends since. Chaz thought it was weird, but as long as they were happy, he didn't mind one bit. He - for some reason very - aggressively unzipped his leather jacket as he stumbled down the steps. His boots clacked quite loudly and obnoxiously against the hot asphalt as he walked down the road.

"Yo... Why's Chaz McFreely in town?" A student of the city's local public school, Rhonda, whispered to a fellow student.

"Tch. Probably back in the city to get more money from his 'mommy and daddy'." They mocked, snickered under their breath. Chaz growled and pulled them up by the collar of their shirt,

"If you have shit to say to me then say it." He snapped. 

"Hunh. As long as you don't come back to our school, we got no problem in these parts, McFreely." They snarled. Chaz dropped them to the ground and shoved both the students forcefully into the curb, turning away on his heel. 

He couldn't fucking stand the city kids. He really couldn't. He needed to get somewhere. Somewhere away from them. He passed through the park and passed through a dark tunnel, the brick walls littered with graffiti wars between the Sims High and the Royal Academy. The tunnel mostly stank of weed and cigarettes - which he frankly thought was gross, himself - as he breathed heavily through the thick air. He emerged on the other side of the tunnel in a wood, the putrid smell of drugs exiting his nostrils. He kicked his way over to a small log lodged between two cliffs and sat on it, hanging his legs off the side.

**Why do these city kids even bother?** He thought, **I just went to their school once.** He spat on the ground once again. Chaz came from a very wealthy family. His ridiculously rich parents had ludicrously lucrative careers, which was the only reason he went to the Royal Academy in the first place. He wasn't smart enough to pass the placement test, he wasn't good enough to get a scholarship, he practically brought down the entire school's average by a whole letter grade all by himself (which he didn't believe to be an exaggeration at all). The only thing he really had going for him was that he was popular. He was _unbelievably_ popular at the Royal Academy. Fun-loving, adored by girls, he even has his own fan club for god sakes! None of it really compared, though, to his family. His parents rarely spoke to him, and when they did, it was expressing the disappointment of his grades and the path he was taking in life. They simply continue to pay his tuition into the Royal Academy in the hopes that one day he'll magically become the perfect kid they'd dreamed of having. Chaz squeezed his eyes shut, pulling his knees up to his chest and hunching over, resting his face in his arms. He took off his shades and buried his eyes into his forearm, attempting to push away all the thoughts about his family.

"Uh- Hi...? Is... Is this a bad time?" He heard a terribly familiar voice with that stupid English accent. He opened his eyes and picked up his head. He looked down to see Travis standing on the ground below, staring up at Chaz with a genuinely concerned look on his face.

"Wh-? Jesus _fucking Christ_!" Chaz jumped, automatically putting his shades back on as fast as he could, "What the fuck are you doing here?!" He put back on his defensive and angry face.

"I got here at noon... um... sharp, and you weren't there so I asked around. Some people said they saw you come over here... That tunnel is fucking disgusting, by the way." Travis smiled lightly, still trying to rub the scent out of his nose.

"Leave me the hell alone, dipshit. You wouldn't get it." Chaz built one up and attempted to aim, his aggressive spit just landing nearly an inch away from Travis' face. Travis flinched away in response, looking down at where the projectile landed in a mixture of mock and real disgust. Travis gazed back up at Chaz,

"Well, I may not understand, but I'm pretty fucking good at talking about things." Travis offered, attempting to pull himself up onto the log with what little upper body strength he had. His left hand slipped while grabbing onto a branch, causing him to yelp. Chaz scoffed angrily and hastily put his hands under Travis' arms, pulling him up onto the log like a small dog. He huffed, turning his embarrassed face away from Travis. "Um. Thanks..." Travis whispered, brushing the dirt off of his outfit.

"Whatever." Chaz grunted, "Didn't want you to fall off and break your leg or something. Just 'cuz I'd get blamed for it."

"Yeah..." Travis murmured in semi-agreement. There was a long awkward silence, Travis swinging his legs back and forth as they hung off the edge of the log. "Do you want to talk about i-"

"Hell no."

"Yep. Expected." Travis immediately shut himself up, pressing his lips together in a straight line. After a few moments, Chaz sighed loudly through his nose.

"The Royal Academy." Was all he said, passively.

"Uh... What about it... exactly?" Travis asked, lifting his head back up to look at the taller student.

"My parents... Fuck, man." He cursed under his breath before continuing, "They're the worst. Fucking uptight and shit. Care too much about my future." 

"And that's a problem?" Travis tutted, "You should be grateful that you have parents that care about you so much."

"Yeah. Oh, yeah. I should be _grateful_. Should I also be grateful that they've basically disowned me because I'm not perfect like them too?" Chaz snapped, " _You_ should be thankful that you have someone. Someone to go to. If I tried to go to my parents they'd call the cops on me for 'trespassing on their property'." He said, bitterly. Travis bit on his fingernail,

He reached his hand out but soon pulled it back, “Chaz, I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't know about your parents." He apologized, rubbing the side of his face out of stress.

"It's whatever. I don't care. Fucking trash-talk me all you want. It doesn't matter anymore." He crossed his arms.

"What... What'd'you mean?"

"I'm running away from this fucking city by the end of the semester. Before Halloween, before Christmas, it doesn't matter. I'm just getting the hell out of here.” His eyebrows were pinched together, his hazel eyes cast downward to the lush forest floor.

"Wh- Chaz... Why would you go through all this trouble if you're just going to run away?"

"Don't you get it, Scott? I can only live in the moment. I make decisions and just choose not to regret them... Even if I should." He sat in silence, "But this is something _no one's_ changing my mind about. There's nothing left for me here. Probably gonna run away to the mountains... live with a yeti or some shit."

"If I"m being honest, that's a pretty bad game plan. I mean, there are _so_ many people at the academy that care and adore you." Travis protested, "How can you just ignore that?"

"What do you not get, dipshit? It's not about adoration anymore. It's not about _other_ people caring about me, it's about _me_ caring for _myself_. And if I'm being honest, right now the academy is making me feel like shit. I thought that this-" He gestured between himself and Travis, presumably referencing their staged relationship, "Would make me feel better, but - hell - it's _not_. No one at the academy feels like a real person these days. They all feel artificial. They're all perfect students with perfect grades and perfect families. Then, here _I_ am with failing grades and the shittiest family on the bright side of Sim City." He put his head in his hands, pulling at his hair. Suddenly, Chaz picked up his head and angrily pushed himself out of his seat, landing on his feet in the grass below. He shook his head as if he suddenly just realize the situation he was in and began to trudge back towards the tunnel that they came.

"Hey! Uh, where are you going?!" Travis called,

"I have a show at four. I'm outta here." Chaz responded coldly.

"But it's only one!" Travis called back. The only response he received was Chaz's middle finger pointed in his direction as the redhead disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.


	6. Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis makes a request he'll probably regret.
> 
> The gang gets an invitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *laughs nervously while writing next chapter*
> 
> *looks around nervously while writing next chapter*
> 
> *rewrites next chapter*

Travis sat in the Headmistress' office at 10 AM on the next Monday morning due to his reflexive thinking Friday night. The previous Saturday he skipped hanging out with Sapphire, Zack, and Candy and just went to bed. He skipped out on Summer's cheer tryouts, and his last encounter with Chaz - needless to say - didn't turn up very well. Travis hadn't seen him since they met each other in the forest on Saturday.

"So. What did you want to meet for, this morning, Mr. Scott?" Headmistress Rosalyn asked, folding her hands on top of her desk.

_Oh. Right._

"Um..." _Another excuse... And make it better than last time!_ "My dormmate." He stated, plainly.

"Yes? Preston Winthrop, correct? Well, what about the gentleman?" Ms. Rosalyn asked, curiously.

"Uh, he's been very disruptive lately. Causing more trouble than usual- I'm sure you've noticed, ma'am?"

**Suck up.**

**Wait... Am I talking to myself?**

"Why, yes. In fact, I have. Just last Friday he'd been caught out past curfew. Next to a crying girl, not to mention."

"Was that girl Beebee? You know, pink hair, bunny ears-"

"Oh, yes!"

"Yeah, he's been very rude to her for a while now. Is there anything we can do about Preston's recent behavior?" Travis asked.

"Well, there's not much I can do about him _specifically,_ but I suppose I could request a dorm change if you'd be interested? To keep you out of trouble." She offered, rolling her chair to a filing cabinet behind her and pulling out a manila folder.

"That would depend on who my alternate options are," Travis responded, biting his thumbnail.

"And _that_ would depend on who would be willing to change dorms." She rolled back over to her desk, opening the folder. Travis spotted his own files, "Unless, of course, you think you're the best judgment in a situation like this and know who Preston should be roomed with to cause the least amount of trouble?"

**Now... that was an idea. Who is the most uptight, unbearable, strict, annoying boy in the entire school? Someone who'd make Preston's life a living hell...**

"Do you know a student Mr. Spaz? Ray Spaz, to be exact. I've seen him on the second floor of the dormitory before. He's basically an unofficial hall monitor around there." Travis recalled.

"Now that you mention it, I _do_ know Mr. Spaz. He visited the office not too long ago to retrieve items left for him in the front desk. You think Mr. Winthrop should be roomed with Mr. Spaz?" She wrote something down on Travis' files.

"Yes. One-hundred percent."

"And you are aware this would mean that you would be rooming with Mr. Spaz's _current_ dormmate, correct?"

"Yes. As long as he's not much like Preston I think we'd get along just fine."

"Well, let me just look through my files..." She opened her cabinet again and scrolled through the manila folders until she landed on Ray's file, "Ah, so you'd be fine with your new dormmate being Mr. McFreely, correct? I'll let him know as soon as I can."

**You've got to be kidding me.**

\---

**How the hell could I forget that Ray's roommate is Chaz?! I'll just have to tell her to cancel the request. Hopefully I'll have enough time later.** He hastened down the tiled halls bustling with students. He hiked his bag further up onto his shoulder as he reached his locker. Whispers began to float up behind him as he put thick textbooks onto a shelf in his locker,

"Look, there he is..."

"He's coming this way..."

Travis suddenly felt someone yank on his bag and spin him around. Of course, it was Chaz. Chaz subtly began shoving Travis across the hall without saying anything.

"What- What are you doing?!" Travis groaned as Chaz pulled him by the wrist into the restroom. Once they'd stopped Travis asked again, slightly out of breath this time, "What... are you doing...?!"

"I dunno. Just seen that one couple do it before. It's better with an audience." Chaz shrugged, sucking on a lollipop. He was nonchalant as if they hadn't even spoken on Saturday.

"Yeah. That's literally because they go in the bathroom to make out, Chaz." Travis complained, rubbing his wrist where Chaz had previously gripped it tightly.

"What? Ew. Gross. I don't want people to think we've made out. That's disgusting." Chaz cringed, scrunching up his nose.

"Exactly. Can I go now?" Travis pointed behind him to the bathroom door with his thumb.

"Nah. It's good for the rumors. That _Supergroove_ friend of yours, by the way. Yesterday made hella good work of the rumors around here. Nearly everyone in the school's heard of this whole fake thing, now." He smirked cockily, biting down on the lollipop in his mouth. Travis shuddered at the terrible sound.

"Supergroove?" He asked.

"She's a DJ, yeah? Tell her it's her new DJ name."

"Okay..." Travis drawled, looking for an opening to talk about Saturday. He just took it, "Hey, listen... I-I'm sorry about Saturday."

"I said it's whatever. So it's whatever." Chaz grunted, keeping the lollipop stick hanging out the side of his mouth. The bell to the passing period for First Period rang.

"For what it's worth... I agree with you." Chaz looked at Travis with interest, his eyebrow raised, "You're right. A _lot_ of people at this school feel fake. And I feel obligated to tell you that I'm not determined to be one of them. From now on, you'll get only one-hundred percent of the truth from me. I swear." It was Travis' turn to hold out his hand. His hand quivered in the air for a second. Chaz's face looked genuinely shocked that Travis said it, and he slowly returned the handshake before regaining his composure.

"Thanks, Scott." He appeared caught off guard by the statement, spitting his lollipop stick into the bin in the corner of the room. "You can leave now. Everyone should probably be in their class by now." Chaz nodded his head towards the door.

"What about you?" Travis asked, setting his hand on the door handle, ready to leave.

"Eh. I usually stay here at least ten minutes after the bell rings. For a dramatic entrance." He shrugged.

"Have you ever - just maybe - thought that's why you're failing the class?" Travis joked.

"Shut up. Get to class." Chaz shoved him out the door, although Travis could've sworn he spotted a slight smile flicker across Chaz's lips as he left the bathroom. Travis slid into his First Period class, which was Physics, and sat down next to Candy at a lab table as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class.

"Hey, Trav'. Where were you?" Candy elbowed him lightly in the torso.

"Talking to Chaz. He says that you did a really great job spreading the rumors, by the way." Travis smiled, looking towards the front of the classroom, but watching Candy with his eyes.

"Well, he's very welcome. We might just have to pay him a visit at lunch today." A large, mischevious grin spread across Candy's face.

"Candy. Please. No." Travis pleaded.

"Okay, students. Welcome back to class. Today, we'll be studying _aliens_ and where to find them!"

"But, Professor Nova, this is Physics class."

"And your point is?!"

\---

He was just finishing up his Third Period class, which was Gym. He'd been showing off to all the girls, purposefully flexing every time he passed by them on the track.

"He's so dreamy..." They'd swoon.

"Okay, class! Back inside. Get changed and get to lunch! Chop chop!" The Gym teacher yelled, much too loudly.

He skidded to a stop, dust flying into his face. He turned back around and raced down the track towards the gym. He pushed open the gym's back doors and caught a glimpse of Summer and Liberty out of the corner of his eyes. Summer's feet were being held down by Liberty while the former did crunches on a mat. On the opposite side of the gym, he spotted Zack and Travis. Zack was ushering Travis to sit on his back while doing push-ups to prove how strong he was. Travis profusely refused. As Chaz was walking across to the locker room door, the whistle blew inside as well and everyone in the gym began to file into their respective locker room. Chaz got changed back into his uniform before anyone else could, though not bothering to wear his blazer. He really didn't like the blazer. It was way too hot to wear it. He slung his blazer over his shoulder and hung his backpack on his opposite shoulder. As he pushed open the large doors of the gym that led to the path heading towards the campus' courtyard, he felt a hand catch him by the elbow.

"Scott." Chaz acknowledged his presence, casually.

"McFreely." He responded in a jokingly low voice before hitting the taller boy lightly on the arm, "C'mon, lighten up, Chaz! You can't keep up this whole 'tough guy' persona for long!"

"That's because it's not a persona. Besides, I hate you, so I'm not gonna call you by your actual name, duh." Chaz looked up at the sky, hiding a faint smile from Travis. He added an extra, "Dipshit." To the end for good measure.

"Well then, I don't think that's going to convince your adoring fans that we're dating." Travis put it simply, a teasing lilt in his voice.

"Shut up." Chaz punched him in the arm, actually sending him stumbling back a few steps. Travis shook himself out before sidling back up to Chaz, their feet falling into step with one another. Once they arrived at the cafeteria, nearly everyone picked up their heads and stared. 

Honestly, Travis had never had this much attention on him before. He didn't know what to do. His face flushed red as he attempted to glance up at Chaz. Who - of course - looked completely unfazed by all of this attention. Whispers started up again,

"So it is true..."

"They're really dating?!"

"I really can't believe it..."

"So woke..."

Chaz grunted and looked down at Travis, just now realizing how embarrassed the latter was. Upon noticing Travis' face flushed red, he let his voice echo throughout the cafeteria,

"Hey, if you have something to say, just say it. You're embarrassing him." Chaz spat on the ground. Which, Travis seemed to notice he usually spit on the ground if he felt embarrassed him _self_. Or if he just felt awkward.

"OMG... how nice... Standing up for his own boyfriend..."

Travis visibly twitched at the word. He wasn't sure that he'd ever get used to being called Chaz McFreely's "boyfriend".

Chaz leaned down to Travis' level, lowering his voice "Yo, let's go, Scott. You're rolling with the cool kids today."

"U-Um... who exactly are the cool kids...?" Travis asked, timidly as they approached - what was popularly known as - Chaz's table. Then he saw them.

Sitting at the table from one end to another was Summer Holiday, Annie Radd, and Rusty. Two, of which, he was generally very scared of. Though, all four - _including Chaz_ \- were _way_ out of his league. Summer was hella popular, Annie was hella cool, and Rusty was hella scary.

_And Chaz was all three combined_.

Not to mention Travis' ex-'boyfriend' was sitting three seats away from him. He wrenched a fake smile onto his face as he waved at Rusty who seemed unbothered by the situation.

"How the hell did I end up at this table..." Travis whispered to no one in particular.

"What was that?" Summer sat up, a friendly smile plastered on her face.

"Huh? U-Um!" He turned to Chaz, "I said... How the hell did I end up dating someone so out of my league like you?!" Travis laughed nervously. Chaz shrugged indifferently,

"Guess you're just one lucky son of a bitch, huh?" Chaz laughed. Travis laughed along like it was a joke but... he wasn't sure if it was actually a joke. Suddenly, Annie gasped loudly and slammed her hand down on the lunch table,

"I know you!" She exclaimed, pointing at Travis.

"Uh..." Travis looked around to make sure she wasn't pointing at anyone else, "Y-You do?"

"Yeah! Every week I throw a sick rooftop party at my old man's place in the city. There's this girl that DJ's for me sometimes... what's her name again...? Candy Beer... Bar... Bea-"

"Candy Behr?" Travis asked.

"Yes! Yeah, that's her! Talks about you all the time. She spins sick tunes, bro! Give her props for me!" Annie cheered, pumping her fist in the air. Chaz took a seat next to her.

"Sure..." Travis bit on his thumbnail. Chaz gestured to the seat next to him and Travis reluctantly sat down. Annie began to loudly dig into her food.

"Oh! An' tell 'er dat I wan' 'er to s-h-pin at my pardy dis weegend! Imma pay double!" Annie yelled with a mouthful of food. Travis laughed nervously,

"Yeah. I will."

Annie smirked, "Oh yeah, and... Invite all your friends! It's gonna be the biggest party of the year."

\---

"She does?! Oh my god... The last time I DJ'd for her party.... that was the time of my entire _freaking_ life!" Candy took Travis by the shoulders and shook him, " _I can't wait!_ "

"She also said to invite all of my friends. So... I guess that means I'm invited by default...?" Travis began biting his nails again.

"What?! She really did say that?!" Candy squealed, "Trav'! Annie Radd throws the biggest, best-est, most extreme parties of all time! And we just got invited! _And I'm DJ'ing it!!!!_ " She screamed again out of excitement.

"But Candy! I've never even been to a party! How am I supposed to survive?!" Travis cried.

"Relax. Most parties like this are usually filled with.... alcohol. And drugs. And... alcohol. More drugs..." She paused as if she was thinking of what else to say, "Oh! And lots of sex!"

" _CAnDY!_ "

"Sorry, but it's true. Listen, I know you don't like big parties like this, so if you don't wanna go, you don't have to. But this honestly could be a once in a lifetime opportunity." She patted him on the back and began to walk away, "Imma go tell Z' and Sapph'. _You_ figure out if you're gonna go or not!" She disappeared behind the red brick wall around the perimeter of the campus, heading out towards the field.

Candy must've misunderstood Travis' intentions. This whole party thing may not be his scene...

But there was no way in hell he was going to miss it.


	7. Think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes to Annie Radd's party.
> 
> Travis gets wasted.
> 
> The truth about Travis' family is revealed.
> 
> Chaz and Candy get real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why did i have so much fun writing this chapter idkkk 
> 
> (probs because soft boi hoursssss)

"Travis! Are you ready to go yet?!" Roxie yelled from outside. He was in Roxie and Candy's dorm bathroom brushing his hair in the mirror. He couldn't be in his own dorm because Preston was being forced to pack all of his stuff up and leave to move in with Ray. Meaning, unfortunately, Travis would end up having Chaz move in with him. Preston kept going on about getting "revenge" or some shit like that.

"Um..." He sighed and tossed the brush onto the counter, "I guess." He stepped out into their dorm.

"Oh, yay! You look _so_ good, Trav'! Let's go." She led him out into the hallway, all of their friends already waiting there. Suddenly, Summer and Poppy burst out of their dorm room. Poppy wore a floral tank-top and a pink skirt. Summer wore a short dress covered with blue sequins. She was yelling on the phone while Poppy ran over to Travis and their friends.

"What do you mean?!" Summer screamed into her phone. She paused. Travis spun his key ring around his finger and gestured for his friends to go. Poppy caught Travis by the shoulder and quietly shook her head, gesturing back towards Summer.

"Beebee! This is the biggest party of the year! You can't just flake on me like that! Beebee! Hey, don't-!" She suddenly stopped before yelling and her knuckles turned white. She threw her phone onto the floor. 

_Crack._

Her phone emitted a noise that made Travis want to bawl his eyes out. She kneeled down on the ground and started crying.

"Summer...? Are you okay?" Poppy shuffled over to the disheveled girl on the ground.

"No... Beebee was supposed to drive me to Annie's party! But she said she's not going... So now I have no ride! And if I don't go, my reputation will go down _at least_ ten points!" She sobbed. Poppy turned around to look at her friends and they just shrugged. 

"Hey, guys? Is it okay if Summer rides with us?" Poppy asked, offering Summer a hand up.

"W- Really? You'd do that for me...?" Summer wiped her eyes.

"Yes! Right, guys?"

"Of course!"

"Yeah."

"No problem!"

"You can even sit in the passenger seat, too." Candy offered. They could all hear the door to the dormitory building open and close as someone walked down the hallway.

"Well, then... Where will I sit?" Travis asked. He wasn't really mad that Summer was taking his spot in the car, but he did feel a little left out.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I-If I'm intruding then I just won't-" Summer began before Zack cut her off,

"Nonsense! Travis doesn't mind! Right Trav'? Why don't you just ask-"

"I'll take him." Travis felt a hand appear on his shoulder and looked behind him to see Chaz gazing down at him. 

"Oh... H-Hi Chaz..." Travis could barely squeak out.

"Hey, shorty." Chaz replied with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Whatever..." Travis mumbled, a red blush spreading across his face.

"O-Oh!" Sapphire exclaimed as her entire face turned pink, "Hi Chaz!" She giggled, "You're so cool! I'm such a big fan of yours." She twirled her long brown hair around her finger.

"Thanks. Sapphire, right?" He winked at her.

"OH EM GEE!" She leaned over to Candy, "Candy, he knows my name! I-I-I" She kept on stuttering as if she was a broken record.

"Chaz, I didn't know you had a car..." Summer pointed out, wiping her eyes as she stood up.

"I don't." He smirked, pulling out a key ring, "I have a motorcycle."

"What?! I've never ridden on a motorcycle before...!" Travis exclaimed.

"Yeah. Well, you've never been to a party either, so there's a first for everything." Chaz snickered.

"I gue- Wait, how did you know I've never been to a party before?!" Travis objected. Candy laughed,

"Just try not to kill Travis, okay?" She flashed them a smile, reaching out and catching the keys to the car that Travis reluctantly threw to her.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of him for you." Chaz winked, taking Travis down the hallway by the wrist, "See ya!" He called behind them.

"B-Bye, Chaz!" Sapphire swooned, trying to get one last word in with him before he left.

"Your friends are pretty funny, I guess." Chaz hummed as they got outside.

"I think so." Travis shrugged. Chaz swung his leg over a black and red motorcycle, 

"Don't worry. This isn't my real showy 'stunt motorcycle'. This is just my personal one." He tapped the seat behind him as a gesture for Travis to hop on. Travis knew what he was talking about, having seen Chaz pull up to school on his stunt motorcycle before. It was bright red with a blue seat and stars on it.

"A-Are you sure we won't die?" Travis touched the motorcycle gently with the toe of his shoe as if to test it. Chaz let out a genuine laugh (which honestly made Travis' face feel quite hot) before realizing and putting on his normal scowl and shook his head.

"Do I look like I've ever died before? C'mon. Hop on." Chaz tapped the seat again. Travis slowly nodded, cautiously swinging his leg over the bike as if he were riding a horse for the first time. He clutched onto the sides of the bike. Chaz looked back at him and tutted his tongue,

"Scott, if you hold onto the bike like that, you _will_ actually die."

"Then how am I supposed to hold on?!" Travis yelled like he was actually panicking. Chaz held in a snort of laughter at the confusion of the blonde. 

**Hold it in, keep scowling... It's not funny...**

"You hold on," Chaz grabbed Travis' arms and interlocked them around his waist, "Here. Just so you don't die." Chaz spat on the ground.

Travis felt his face burning. But that was probably just because it was pretty hot outside. Yeah. Because he didn't... _y'know..._ Yeah, no. That wasn't a possibility. 

Chaz stuck the keys in the ignition and the motorcycle revved up loudly, startling Travis. Chaz felt him jump and continued to hold in his laughter as he began to drive.

"Agh! This thing goes fast!" Travis exclaimed, "A-And it always feels like it's about to fall over..."

"Just gotta get used to it, you dipshit."

**Dipshit? Really? I thought we were past that.**

"I mean, I guess it's sorta cool, though..."

"Yeah. It always is."

\---

"This place is..." Travis began.

"Huge?" Chaz gazed up at it, lights flashing and music blaring on the rooftop, but also out all of the windows.

"Terrifying!" Travis corrected him, "Maybe I just shouldn't have come." His eyes were wide as they stared up at the building.

"Tch. No way. You'll wanna stay once you have some alcohol in you." Chaz stuck his hands in his pockets and went up to ring the doorbell.

"Wh-What? Oh... no, I-I-I don't drink." Travis stammered, not really sure what to say. Annie answered the door, jumping up and down in rhythm with the music,

"Hey!" She yelled over the speakers, "You guys made it! Come on in! Here, have my shots! Woo!" She passed two shots of what looked like straight vodka to Chaz as she weaved her way back inside.

"Hnh. Okay. Guess you couldn't _handle_ alcohol. I bet you're a total lightweight, anyways." Chaz drawled, seeing determination form in Travis' eyes as he spoke.

"Huh?! Hmph, I'll show you who's a lightweight, McFreely!" Travis huffed, snatching the shot from Chaz and downing it in one go. He began coughing and choking immediately after,  
"Ack! That's fucking disgusting..." He doubled over, coughing over the sidewalk.

"We're not even inside yet, dipshit. You can't start getting sick _this_ early on." Chaz complained, downing his shot too. He tossed the shot glass into a bush and made his way inside. "C'mon, let's go inside." Chaz grabbed Travis by the wrist as they waded inside through small scattered crowds of people.

"I'm so glad you guys came! Here, have some more!" Annie screamed, seemingly already very intoxicated, "Oh! Hi, Odin!" She spotted a blonde guy from across the room and ran over to him, leaving Chaz with two more shots. Chaz looked down at Travis and shrugged,

"Bottoms up." He hands Travis one of the glasses. They clinked their shots together and downed them at once. Travis let out a raspy groan, coughing.

"How're you holding up, down there?" Chaz joked, grabbing the empty shot glass from Travis. Travis sniffled his running nose,

"Fucking terrible. But other than that I still feel pretty sober." Travis picked his head back up.

"Good. Then you won't mind a challenge." Chaz smirked, turning around and filling up several more shot glasses. At this point, people partying around them seemed to take notice that Chaz was there.

"Oh my God, Chaz~! Chaz McFreely is here, guys!" 

"Um... A challenge...?" Travis asked.

"Yep. Whoever can drink the most shots without throwing up wins. And if we both win..." He paused, "Well, I've never gotten that far. I _always_ win." He bragged, sitting on a chair at the kitchen counter.

"Why would I do that? I don't wanna get _wasted_ , Chaz. Besides, how would we drive back to the academy?"

"Just live in the moment, dipshit. You gotta learn to have fun!" He insistently gestured to the chair next to him, "Ready?" He asked Travis, picking up the first shot glass in his row.

"How many shots are there?" Travis asked, warily looked over at his row of shots.

"I dunno. Like eleven or something. Does it matter?"

"Chaz! Eleven shots are _way_ too many! Are you crazy?!" Travis yelled, leaning over and knocking off the last five of each row, "Not to mention we've each already had two!" Leaving them both with six more shots.

"Fine. Six more it is. Whatever, pussy. Ready?"

People were now gathered around the counter, cheering them on.

"I... I guess so..." Travis groaned.

"Go!" The crowd cheered. The two began downing shots, tapping them on the counter before throwing them back. Chaz was already on his fifth one when Travis began to feel dizzy on his fourth. 

"Oh... fuck..." Travis moaned, blinking repeatedly as if it would do anything for him. He slowly drank his seventh shot of the night while Chaz finished his last one, seemingly still completely sober. Chaz slammed the last glass down on the counter and held his arms up in the air, gesturing for applause from the crowd. Meanwhile, Travis leaning over the side of the counter and puked into the trash can.

"Oh, god. Let's get you out of here."

\---

She finally pulled up on the side of the road next to the party after being stuck in traffic.

"Finally! I can't wait! I'm so excited, I've never been to one of Annie Radd's parties before!" Sapphire cheered.

"I wonder if Chaz and Travis already got here." Candy hummed, unlocking the doors as everyone stepped out of the car. Summer looked around the dark street,

"Oh! No doubt they're here, there's Chaz's motorcycle!" She pointed out a dark black and red motorcycle parked on the sidewalk near the front door. There were a couple of people from the city's high school nearby in the driveway, smoking weed and passing around full bottles of tequila.

"Oh, good! Let's go find Travis!" Candy smiled and made her way inside the bustling house. She looked around all the people dancing and drinking to see Annie Radd surrounded by a good-sized group of people. 

"Annie! Hey!" Candy called across the floor. Annie noticed her and perked up,

"DJ Candy! I've been waiting for you, girl! Mind spinning for a little bit?!" Annie offered, gesturing to the turntables on a landing overlooking the whole room.

"I'd be honored to, but maybe in a little bit! Have you seen Travis?!" Candy asked, her friends trailing in slowly behind her.

"Oh yeah! He was just over at the counter with McFreely a little while ago! They disappeared somewhere, though!" She screamed.

"Okay... Thanks! I'll go ask around! I'll be back in twenty to spin, okay?!"

"Sweet! Thanks, Supergroove! Wooh!" She turned back around and started dancing again.

"Hey, Candy! We're gonna go party! Let us know if you find Trav', kay?!" Zack beamed of excitement to be at the party. Candy nodded in return and turned towards the kitchen.

Candy approached the kitchen counter only to see it covered in two rows of shot glasses. One of the rows was completely empty and the other had one full shot. Beebee was at the counter talking to a boy,

"Beebee? I thought you told Summer that you weren't coming!" Candy exclaimed, approaching the pink-haired girl.

"Yeah. Because I didn't want her to know I'm coming!" Beebee looked around and leaned in, "Between you and me, I came here to see if I could snatch up Chaz!" She giggled.

"Beebee, you do know he's taken, right?" Candy blinked.

"By Travis? Pft, yeah! Those two won't last 'til the end of September!" She laughed.

**If only you knew, Beebee...**

"But, Beebee... It's literally the 28th. The end of September is in two days." Candy hesitated, a confused look plastered on her face.

"Exactly! I bet you anything they'll break up tonight, and Chaz'll come crawling to me!" She said in a sing-songy voice.

"Um... Okay. Hey, uh, speaking of... Have you seen either of them around here?" Candy asked, looking around at the house.

"Travis and Chaz? Yeah! They were just here doing a challenge or... something. Chaz took Travis upstairs because he wasn't feeling too well." Beebee explained, pointing to the stairs leading to the second floor across the room.

"Oh no... What happened?"

"I dunno! I just got here! Woo! Party!" She screamed, going to go dance with the boy she was previously talking to. Candy shook her head and made her way to the stairs. People were littered across the steps, sitting and crying or something along those lines. She dodged all the emotional drunks and hopped onto the second floor, now looking down at the first floor from above. She opened the first door of the hall, which happened to be a bathroom. Clara Belle was alone crying in the bathtub. She didn't look up when the door was opened. Candy immediately closed the door again. When she opened the second door, it looked like Annie's previous bedroom from before she lived in the dorms at the academy. There was a tiny game of truth or dare happening on her carpet. This little game included Poppy, Jenny, Liberty, Pablo, Bean, and Dolly.

"Hi, Candy! Wanna join?" Poppy waved happily.

"Um... No thanks. Have fun, though." Candy smiled politely.

"Okay! Thanks!"

Candy nodded and slowly closed the door again.

**God... Where are they?! What if they're not even in the same place...?!**

She opened the third door down which was a closet. _Immediate regret._ She slammed the door shut. Candy shuddered as she made her way down the hallway. A balcony filled with the spooky kids, another bathroom with a haunting make-out session. She got down to the final door within an inch of her poor life. 

**This must be Annie's parents' bedroom...** She thought, out of breath from being horrified half to death. She opened the door and sure enough, Travis was laying nearly passed out on the bed. 

"Travis! Oh my god... Are you crying?!" Candy yelled. Tears were streaming down Travis' face, "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I... just wanna-" He mumbled something, "Sleep..." He flailed his arms around before rolling over and stuffing his face into the pillow, letting out a very loud sob.

"Have you been drinking?!" Candy asked. He wailed and slowly nodded his head.

"Wait... Wasn't he with you? Where's Chaz?!" Candy demanded. Travis flopped back over onto his back to look at Candy and he gestured somewhere towards the door. Candy looked over and Chaz stood in the doorway with a box of tissues and a cup of something clear.

"Chaz!" Candy seemed angry, "What did you do?! That'd better not be more alcohol!" She attempted to snatch the glass of liquid out of his hand but he dodged her and started walking towards Travis.

"Relax, Supergroove. It's just water. And, no. I didn't do anything. He's just a really... _really_ emotional drunk." Chaz sat on the end table next to the bed and handed Travis the glass of water and threw the box of tissues onto him. Travis let out a long whine,

"Thank... you..." He slurred, attempting to drink the glass of water, but spilling some of it on his face. He spluttered and coughed, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"Watch it, dipshit." Chaz's voice was surprisingly quiet as he put his hand under the glass to steady it so Travis wouldn't spill it again. Candy looked genuinely shocked by the act of kindness. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg, looking at the scene as if it weren't real.

"Well, I'll be. Chaz McFreely actually being nice? Maybe you _aren't_ that bad of a fake boyfriend." Candy chuckled.

"Shut it, Supergroove." Chaz rolled his eyes and took the now-empty cup from Travis, placing it on the end table, "Here, dry your face. You've been fucking sobbing." He pulled out a handful of tissues from the box and handed them to Travis, who ungracefully patted his face dry... And then started crying again.

"Well, it _is_ your fault he's drunk in the first place. So it's only fair you have to deal with wasted Travis."

"How would _you_ know it's my fault?" Chaz asked, standing up.

"Beebee told me you two were doing some sort of challenge downstairs earlier. I could only assume it was alcohol-related once I laid my eyes on Travis." She sighed. 

"Well, I know you wanna hear me say it, so I'll say it... I'm _sorry_. Sorry for getting this dipshit blackout drunk. Happy?" He stretched, yawning. He heard Travis groan and turn over in the bed, lying face up towards the ceiling. Chaz noticed and leaned down,

"Hey, idiot. At least lay on your side so you don't end up drowning yourself when you inevitably throw your guts up." He pushed Travis over back onto his side. The wasted Travis muttered a quiet,

"Thanks..." Before immediately beginning to snore quietly. Candy watched the scene unfold before her, and suddenly gasped as if she just realized something,

"Wait... You care about him... Don't you?" She smirked as if she'd just found out a terrible secret. Chaz smiled down fondly at the sleeping boy, though contradictory to the look on his face he still whispered, 

"No... Not really. But someone has to look out for him." Chaz's voice was so soft and quiet that Candy had to walk closer to hear him. She had a moment of realization,

"Wait... Do you..."

"Yeah. I figured out the day after he and I met near Main Street..." He sat back on the end table, "God... I was giving him _so_ much shit about my parents being terrible to me. If he'd just _told_ me, I wouldn't've said all that shit. Fuck, I even told him 'at least he had someone to go to'..."

"Oh god..." Candy winced.

"Yeah! If I knew his parents were fucking _gone_ I-" Chaz groaned, putting his head in his hands. He looked over at Travis with an indistinguishable look on his face, "And he was _so_ goddamn patient with me, too... He even said he was sorry because he didn't know about _my_ parents! He said _that_ and _his_ parents are dead, for God Sakes!" Chaz yelled out of frustration with himself.

"Ng..." Travis turned over in the bed again. Chaz furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at him,

"I just don't get how one person could be so fucking unselfish."

"Me neither..." Candy bit her finger and looked down at Travis, then over to Chaz, and back at Travis.

"That's the only reason I agreed to switch into his dorm..." Chaz said.

"What?"

"When I found out that his parents weren't around anymore, that's pretty much the only reason I agreed to be his dormmate. I just... I know what it feels like to have absolutely no family to rely on and then going home and having a miserably terrible roommate too. Like, if everywhere you live feels like hell, why live there anymore?" Chaz sighed deeply and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Is that why you're going to run away...?" Candy asked. Chaz clicked his tongue sheepishly,

"So he told you, huh? That son of a bitch."

"Yeah... But, Chaz, I need to ask you something..." Candy started. Chaz picked up his head to look at her, "If you run away..." She sighed, "Don't you think that would make Travis' life so much more miserable?" She asked with an air of finality. Candy turned around and left, shutting the door behind her slowly. Chaz shivered, thinking about what Travis had said on Monday.

**_You're right. A lot of people at this school feel fake. And I feel obligated to tell you that I'm not determined to be one of them._**

Chaz had to stop lying to himself and face the facts. And the facts were...

Travis was all he had left.


	8. Drink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaz has a change of heart.
> 
> The tea is hot in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this entire story is just me struggling to determine whether chaz is a definite top or a power bottom: discuss

He watched the probably-blackout-drunk Travis sleeping soundly. Chaz honestly wasn't in the mood to party anymore. He _wanted_ to leave, but the only person who he was responsible for was passed out. And he wasn't about to wake him up. He isn't _that_ cold-hearted. Chaz sighed, heading towards the door. He turned the lock on the inside of the door before leaving so no one could get in as long as Travis was still asleep. As he shut the door, he turned around to be met face to face with Beebee.

"Agh!" He jumped.

"Hi, Chaz~!" She grinned and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Um... Hi. Beebee." He gave her a nervous smile.

"Hey, do you wanna like... Ditch these losers and leave with me?" She leaned in. He could smell the alcohol in her breath.

"Uh, actually, I was gonna leave with the, uh, dipshit once he woke up." He pointed to the now-closed door behind him.

**Ugh! That little rat! How could he steal Chaz from all us girls so easily?!**

"Oh..." She giggled flirtatiously, "Okay. Guess I'll be on my way, then~" She laid a hand on Chaz's shoulder as she walked away, her touch lingering for a little too long. He shivered as she walked away. He never really _did_ like Beebee that much, but now that she was single and _very_ drunk, it was so much worse. Chaz decided he would at least attempt to enjoy the party while he was still there. He made his way downstairs and spotted Candy DJ'ing for the whole ground floor. They were all clustered around the stage, jumping up and down, cheering her name. Chaz stood on the bottom step of the stairs, leaning on the railing and watching her DJ for a second. That was before she noticed him and nodded in acknowledgment. She whispered something to Annie and began to climb down from the stage as Annie took over DJ'ing. Candy weaved her way through the excited crowd and sat on the stair next to Chaz.

"So..." She cleared her throat, "Did you-"

"I'm not gonna do it." Chaz sighed.

"What?" She looked up at his idle face cast over with flashing lights changing from red to blue to green repeatedly. He pushed his shades further up his nose.

"I'm not gonna run from my problems anymore. I'll stay at the academy. Not just for his sake, but..." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, simultaneously brushing a stray strand of hair out of his face, "But for my sake too."

Candy looked down at her feet and smiled thankfully, "Thank you. Travis really needs someone to look out for him in his life. I mean, he spends so much time looking out for others that... y'know, he doesn't even think twice about himself." She clicked the toes of her sneakers together quietly. Suddenly, her head perked up,  
"Speaking of, what did you do with Travis?"

Chaz's eyebrows raised as if he'd just remembered,  
"Oh yeah, I locked the door from the inside. Just so, like, no one goes in and kills him or anything."

Candy looked up at Chaz and smiled knowingly.

"What do you think you're smiling at, Supergroove?" He returned to his usual defensive stance, crossing his arms and spitting off the stairs. She held her hands up and shook her head, 

"Oh... nothing~" She hummed, the same smile still lingering on her face.

"Yeah. That's what I thought."

They sighed in unison, though in very different tones.

"Well... Wanna go enjoy the party, McFreely?" She elbowed him in the side, standing up.

He rolled his eyes, "As long as there's more alcohol involved..."

\---  
_Three Hours Later..._ **10:41 PM**  
\---

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon...!" He threw the ping pong ball across the table. It landed perfectly in the last beer-filled red solo cup of his tenth opponent of the night: Zack.

"Yes!!" He exclaimed, spinning around and receiving all the high fives from the surrounding audience.

"Oh, come on! Man, I really should've believed you when you said you were the undefeated beer pong master..." Zack groaned, slinking away, plucking the ball out of the cup and sipping away at his last cup of beer. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Candy,

"Yo, what is it, Supergroove?" He asked, shaking his hands out.

"There's someone in the backyard who wants to see you." She pointed to the sliding glass doors, which you couldn't see much past in the darkness of the night.

"Well, who is it?" He asked, setting up a whole new formation of red solo cups on the table.

"Just go." She rolled her eyes, peeling him off the folding beer pong table and taking his place, "Don't worry. I'm undefeated too."

"Fine, I guess." He shrugged, heading towards the back doors, casually sliding past all of the girls trying to catch him by the elbow. He pushed open the heavy glass door. There were a few people sitting around a small fire pit on the patio, but none of them Chaz recognized. He heard a groan from the opposite end of the yard, coming from the complete darkness of the grassy turf. Chaz took off his shades and squinted his eyes to see Travis laying face-down in the green grass.  
"What is he-? Travis!" Chaz felt Candy appear at his side.

"I didn't know either. He went on and on about not remembering how to open a door or something. I think he climbed out of the window and fell into the grass." Candy gestured up to an open window that clearly led to the room.

"Oh my fucking God. The idiot." Chaz nearly wanted to pull his own hair out.

"Tell me about it..." Candy sighed, yet still smiled. The two trudged over to Travis' body.

"Scott?" Chaz muttered, gently nudging the boy in the head with his foot. Travis sniffed and slowly picked his head up out of the grass.

"That me." Was all he said.

"Okay, great. Look, we already knew that, dipshit. Tell me, how drunk do you feel on a scale of one to ten?" Chaz stuck his hands in his pockets forcefully. He gracelessly rolled over in the grass and sat up, shrugging his shoulders,

"I'm not drunk."

"Yes, you are, dipshit. Now, I'm gonna ask you again. How drunk do you feel on a scale of one to ten? Remember, you told me you were gonna be one hundred percent honest with me from now on..."

Travis wailed and looked up at Chaz with red eyes,  
"You mean that I... That I _really_ have to tell the truth...? Like... the _truth_ truth?" 

"Yes. The _truth_ truth, dipshit."

"Stop being mean." Travis whined.

"Whatever."

"Eight..."

"Just eight?"

"... And a half."

Chaz looked to Candy who just shrugged helplessly. 

"You gonna take him back to the academy?" Candy asked, staring down at Travis with her hands on her hips.

"Nah. It's too risky. Ros'lyn might catch him drunk and then get him expelled..." Chaz worried, hanging his sunglasses on the front of his shirt.

"So what're you gonna do with him? He certainly can't stay here." Candy stated, pulling Travis up to his feet by his elbow, "Geez, you're heavy..."

"I'll just take him somewhere until he's sober enough to make it past Roz." Chaz grunted, taking Travis from Candy and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Ugh, why didn't you just pick him up like that the whole time...?"

"It was funny to watch you struggle."

"No- I meant while he was still upstairs."

"Didn't I already tell you this? I wanted to let him sleep. Whatever, I'm leaving." Chaz started back towards the door to the house.

"How're you gonna keep him on your motorcycle?"

"I don't care. I'll duct tape his hands together if it comes to that." Chaz shrugged, hoisting Travis further up onto his shoulder as he slid open the glass door. Everyone in the room immediately took notice and started whispering, as usual.

"Are they dating?"

"You're not from the academy, _are_ you?"

"Is that Travis Scott... Passed out drunk... On Chaz McFreely's shoulder...?"

"No... It can't be. Travis Scott would never even be at a party like this, let alone drink..."

"Oh my God, Travis!" Roxie came running up to Chaz's side, "Excuse me, is he alright?" She shook Chaz.

"He's fine. Drunk out of his mind, but fine. Just gonna get him out of here." Chaz said, continuing to walk.

"Oh, okay... That's probably for the best." Roxie agreed, patting Travis once on the arm and wandering away into the crowds. Chaz finally made it out into the front yard. He set Travis down on his feet, holding him by the shoulders,

"Are you fine to ride the motorcycle or no?" Chaz asked.

"I wanna ride it..." Travis mumbled quietly.

"The question wasn't if you _want_ to ride it. It was if you _can_. Dipshit."

"That's not-" Travis burped, "Nice..."

"Fine. We're walking." Or, more correctly, Chaz was walking and Travis was being carried, "Come on, let's go." Chaz gawkily picked Travis back up, starting down the dark sidewalk, only somewhat lit with streetlights.

"NoooO! Wait, wait, wait I can ride the bike I sweaar..." Travis began crying again, immediately catching the attention of passerbys. Chaz suddenly realized how strange he must look. A random guy carrying a crying drunk. An old woman glared at him and got on her phone.

**Lady, I swear to God I'm not kidnapping him.**

Travis continued to very emotionally cry, kicking and punching Chaz like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Fine! I'll let you ride if you stop fucking crying!" Chaz gave in, setting Travis down, "Got it?"

Travis nodded frantically, his lips pressed together.

"Yes or no?"

Travis just kept nodding.

"Why the hell aren't you answering me?!"

Travis' voice wavered, "Because you're using your scary voice!" He complained.

"I don't have a sc-" He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing he was just doing it, "Nevermind. Just get on the bike."

"Okay." Travis whimpered, getting on the back of the bike behind Chaz. Chaz turned around and put his helmet over Travis' head instead of his own.

"Wh'do'I have to wear the..." Travis poked the helmet, "Big hat...?"

"Cuz' if you fall off and break your head open, Supergroove would kill me. Now hold on." Chaz stuck the keys in the ignition. Travis quickly obliged, tightly wrapping his arms all the way around Chaz's waist, nearly knocking the wind out of him, "Ack! Jesus fucking- Ow!" Chaz barked.

"Sorry." Travis loosened his grip slightly, resting his tired head on Chaz's left shoulder. Chaz began to blush and tried to push him off, but Travis simply wouldn't budge. Chaz groaned and began to drive nonetheless. While they were driving down the street, Travis kept mumbling things like, 

"Weeeeeee..." and, "I'm gonna puke..." At one point he tried to reach up and take the helmet off. Chaz leaned over and saw him in the mirror,

"'Ey! Stop letting go, you're gonna hurt yourself!" Chaz reached behind him with one of his hands and hit Travis in the chest.

"Owww! Okayyyy!" Travis wailed, squeezing his arms back around Chaz's waist. Chaz slowed down, drifting to a stop at a stoplight. Once it turned green again, he made a sharp right turn onto a dirt path leading up the side of the mountain overlooking most of the surrounding area of Main Street. Travis held on tighter as Chaz weaved and rode over rocks and bumpy parts in the ground. He got to a small cliff overlooking most of the city and stopped the bike, putting the kickstand down. 

"Where are we...?" Travis slurred, stumbling off the motorcycle.

"No place special. It's usually just tourists that come here to take a picture of the city and then leave..." Chaz sniffled, sticking his hands in his pockets. He immediately took them out and used them to lean against the railing.

"Then... wh-how do you know this place's here?" Travis asked groggily, walking up to Chaz's side, "Is this where you take all the popular girls to make out wit' them??" Travis laughed drunkenly at his own question.

"Usually." Chaz admitted, a sheepish grin illuminated on his face from the city lights below. Travis giggled,

"At least buy me dinner first, McFreely..."

Chaz looked down and shook his head with a shyly amused smile scarce on his lips, "Heh, no. Of course - I'm sure even you know - that's not why I brought you here." Chaz swung one leg over the railing, then the other, and sat, perched on it. Travis followed suit, although with less poise.

"Hey! You can see Annie's party from up here!" Travis exclaimed excitedly, pointing a very exaggerated finger. Sure enough, the modern white house could be seen even from up this high due to the flashing lights spilling out its windows. Chaz glanced over. A small smile crossed his face watching the boy's delighted face over such a small thing. He sighed, his fond gaze lingering on Travis' lit-up face for a second too long. Travis looked over at Chaz, not patient enough in his intoxication to wait for a response.  
"Hah, what're'ya staring at me for? Do I really look _that_ drunk?!" Travis felt his own face as if he would be able to see it by touch.

"No, it's just..." Chaz hesitated, letting out his breath, "Nevermind." He shook his head.

"Dipshit." Travis quoted. Chaz furrowed his brows,

"What-?"

"Dipshit." Travis repeated, leaning in to whisper to Chaz, "If you have something to say, then say iiit..." 

"Why are you whispering...?" Chaz asked back, beginning to whisper as well.

"I don't know." Travis' words were so quiet, they nearly came out only as a breath. The two boys sat in silence for many moments, simply observing each other's faces, looking at each other's eyes. Suddenly, Travis gently lurched forward, his lips brushing against Chaz's own for a brief second.

"What're you-"

Travis shook his head to silence Chaz as he leaned forward more, connecting their lips in a kiss. Chaz's mind was racing...

**What's going on? What exactly am I supposed to do in a situation like this? I don't- I'm _not_ gay. I don't even like dudes. But with Travis, I just- I don't know.**

Chaz couldn't stop his thoughts. He wasn't gay. He didn't like boys. But... that wasn't to say he wasn't enjoying the kiss. Suddenly - even before five seconds - Chaz shoved Travis off of him.

"Wait... What...? I thought w-"

"I can't. Look, I'm sorry Travis. But I can't. It feels wrong. I can't take advantage of you while you're drunk like this! It's not right... You won't remember any of this and I'd just feel like... like a piece of fucking shit!" Chaz pulled at his red hair with his hands, "Let's just- Let's just go back to the academy." Chaz hopped off the railing, brushing himself off, and situated himself on his bike.

Travis looked utterly dejected, but somewhat understanding through his wasted state. He solemnly nodded and got on the seat behind Chaz.

\---

Having actually gotten past Headmistress Rosalyn the previous night (Chaz told her that Travis was in an accident or something like that), Chaz lay in bed in his new dorm room. He wasn't able to sleep, and probably wouldn't be able to, so he climbed down his bed and shuffled through his desk. He glanced up at his still-sleeping roommate and back to his desk, snatching up a bottle of pills for headaches. He stumbled into their bathroom and filled up a solo cup with water from the sink. When he reentered the dorm room, his roommate was now awake.

"Good morning." Chaz sighed, back to his usual stern self. He grabbed the headache pills and stepped up partially on the bed's ladder, "Do you remember anything from last night?"

"I... I remember that... I was really drunk. But I don't remember much of being at Annie's actual party..." He groaned, "I passed out in her parents' bedroom. You were... actually surprisingly nice to me. I think Summer was there? Oh, no maybe it was Candy... I remember bits and pieces after I woke up in the yard."

Honestly, Chaz was surprised he even remembered _that_ much, "What..." He took in a deep breath, "What do you remember after that?"

"We were..." He closed his eyes and hummed, "On your motorcycle. I can't remember exactly where we stopped, but I could see Annie's party from a distance..."

"Yeah?" Chaz asked nervously, "Anything after that?" 

Travis bit his nail in deep thought, his brows pinched together. His face suddenly flushed, and he shook his head vigorously, "Uh, nope... Nothing. Do... Do _you_ remember anything?"

Chaz lied, "No." He turned his red face away, "Here. Take this." He handed Travis the pills and water. Travis smiled lightly,

"Thank you."

"Just shut up and take it."


	9. Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff goes pretty wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok hi school's kicking my ass and i published a chapter rlly late last night and realized it contradicted the entire story so i wrote this in like one night soooo :)

It had been almost a month since the night of Annie's party. Travis hadn't drank any alcohol since then, thankfully, and Chaz lived every day in confusion. They never mentioned anything about that night, mostly because Travis didn't remember that they had "kissed" at all. Travis woke up, shivering in the colder October weather. He attempted to pull his blankets further over himself, only to be awoken by the opening and closing of the dorm door. He wrenched his eyes open and propped himself up on his elbows to see who it was. It was Chaz, fully dressed and drinking coffee. In his opposite hand, he held a beg and another drink.

"Oh, good. You're awake." Chaz said, setting his own drink down on his desk, "Here." He handed Travis the bag along with the drink, "I got you something to eat while I was out. And I know you don't like coffee, so I got you some tea."

Travis was surprised, his eyes now wide, but he graciously accepted the breakfast nonetheless,  
"How did you know I prefer tea over coffee?" Travis smiled, taking a small sip.

Chaz immediately looked embarrassed, the tips of his ears turning red,  
"I... I didn't. I just fucking guessed. Or... whatever." He crossed his arms, turning away.

"Good guess, then." Travis leaned down off his bunk bed and lightly punched Chaz on the arm. He then took a longer sip of the tea and groaned, looking at the cloudy sky out the window,  
"What day is today? Do you know?" He asked, climbing down from his bed.

"October 28th... I think? I dunno. It's just really close to Halloween." Chaz shrugged, drinking his coffee.

"Halloween! God, I _totally_ forgot that it's this Thursday? Do you know who's throwing a huge Halloween party? Candy! You just _gotta_ go!" Travis pleaded, changing in the closet.

"Yuch... I dunno. Our last time at a big party like that wasn't exactly a dream come true." Chaz grimaced at the floor, remembering that night. Travis looked away for a brief second, thoughts filling his eyes, before turning back to Chaz.

"Nonsense...!" Travis smiled, now dressed and pulling on his uniform's blazer, "I thought _you_ were the cool one! Besides, if I go and you're not there with me, it's not very good for... publicity." He sighed, slinging his bag over his right shoulder.

"Hnh." Chaz grunted.

"I mean, now that you have all these more people fawning over you every day, we might just have to keep this up, huh?" Travis nudged Chaz jokingly with his elbow before heading to the door with the food and tea Chaz had gotten for him in his opposite hand.

Travis was right, though. Ever since they'd started "fake dating" Chaz had gotten a lot more popular with girls. They'd approach him randomly in the halls, and his stunt shows down at the boardwalk every weekend were always selling out like crazy. 

Travis felt happy for Chaz, but... on the other hand, something didn't feel right.

And deep down, they both knew what was bothering them.

"Heh, c'mon. Let's go! We'll be late for our classes." Travis suggested, heading out the door.

"Yeah, 'kay." Chaz followed him. As they reached the bustling corridors, they linked pinky-fingers. They'd found it less awkward than actually holding hands. They arrived in front of Travis' physics classroom. They glanced at each other awkwardly for a split second before Travis wrapped his arms around Chaz's neck like he always did and they let go, taking in the whispers that still continued about their relationship. Chaz snorted,

"See you next hour, then, loser." He punched Travis lightly in the arm.

"Uh..." He smiled, "You too!" Travis tried to wave goodbye to the taller boy, but by then he'd already disappeared into the crowd.

"So I take it you two are getting along pretty well, now?" Candy appeared out of nowhere.

"Agh!" Travis jumped and stopped to catch his breath, "Candy! Warn a guy before you sneak up like that..." He sighed, hand on his chest.

"Sorry~!" She giggled, "But about McFreely?"

"Whatever. Why does it matter anyway?" Travis scratched the back of his head, looking at the ground.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed, Trav." She smirked as the walked into class, "Ever since you two started," She used air quotes, "'Dating'... Way more people have been talking to us! It's been like a dream come true! And, I've been getting way more DJ'ing gigs! You, sir, are truly amazing." She laughed as they sat down next to each other. Travis rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, yeah..." He looked up, "Oh... Speaking of. Can I talk to you at lunch? It's kinda-" He lowered his voice to a whisper, "Important." Candy's eyes widened,

"Important...?" She echoed, an eyebrow cocked.

"Yes, Candy, important! Jeez." He pouted.

"Okay! 'Of course, you can tell me anything!' How's that for an answer?" Candy joked.

"Whatever..." He smiled.

\---  
Lunch  
\---

Travis looked around for Candy in the cafeteria. She wasn't anywhere to be found.

_Fuck..._

Travis bit his bottom lip and sat down at his friends' usual lunch table. Literally _no one_ was there. Zack, Roxie, Sapphire, Poppy, _Candy_... His eyes continued to dart around the cafeteria.

_Finally!_

Travis hurried over to Candy and quickly grabbed her by the wrist, surprising her.

"Wha-! Trav'!" She exclaimed, stumbling behind him through crowds of people.

"Hurry!" He pulled her into a small hallway next to an abandoned drinking fountain that no one ever used.

"What? What is it?! What's the important thing?!" Candy asked, frantic.

"I need to talk to you about Chaz."

"What about him?"

"About what happened after we left Annie's party..."

That immediately caught Candy's attention. She looked up and cocked her head, "Oh?"

\---

Chaz paced around the old gymnasium, his friends following him with their eyes.

"Are you gonna be okay, Chaz?" Summer asked, tapping her sneakers against the hard polished floors. He groaned and stopped pacing for a second, running his shaky fingers through his red hair,

"No! Godammit..." He began pacing again, "Godammit!" He yelled louder, letting his voice echo off the high, empty ceiling, "I just gotta fuckin' tell him."

"Tell who what?" Annie finally entered.

"F- Travis!" He burst.

"Okay! Okay! No need to freak. What'd'ya need to tell him?" Annie came in and sat on the bleachers. Chaz looked seriously stressed out of his mind. His brows were furrowed together with worry and his hands were visibly shaking. He sat down next to Annie.

"I have to admit to myself. I fucking like him. I like Travis and there's literally not a damn thing I can do about it." His voice shook and cracked under pressure. Annie gasped and hit him on the shoulder,

"Really?!"

"Ann'... I really thought it was obvious." Summer sighed.

"Well, clearly you did a fine job at hidin' it!" Annie looked astonished.

"Great."

"Y'know what? I'm just gonna do it."

\---

"Then after we left and I was totally hammered, he drove his motorcycle onto the top of this... mountain or... or something."

"Uh huh." Candy leaned in.

"We were talking. For... a while, I think? It... It felt like forever in my drunk head--"

\---

"Go on then! Find him!" Annie cheered Chaz on. Chaz got up decisively and ran out of the gymnasium, sliding down this hallway, and that. He was just about to give up when he heard a conversation. It sounded like Travis' voice. Chaz slowed down, walking quietly towards the door and he pushed it open just a bit.

"At this point I thought... 'I think I'm in love.' Then, I leaned in and just... I kissed him. I-It went on for only a little but once it was over I thought." He sighed, "I _know_ I'm in love."

_Wait... Was Travis talking about... Him?_

Chaz held his breath and closed the door again. 

_No. It was probably just a crazy fantasy. Travis didn't even remember that night. He said so himself. Besides, Chaz **is** straight._

\---

"--I _know_ I'm in love." Travis finished. He and Candy stood in silence for a while before she finally broke it,

"Well, there goes your 'Prince Charming' right now."

Travis looked over and saw Chaz walking away down the hallway through the window of the door. He forcefully punched a locker shut as he continued down and turned a corner, his head down.

"Oh shit..." Was all Travis could get out.

"Well? Go after him!"

At this point, that was _all_ Travis could do.


	10. hi im alive

hi i know you guys probably forgot about this story or something buttttt,,

IM WRITING THE NEXT CHAPTER RIGHT NOW I SWEAR!!

but really, i'm going on winter break in a couple of days and i'll have tons of time to write :)

expect the next chapter soon ..


	11. Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis is sad.
> 
> Chaz makes a mistake.
> 
> Travis is mad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this chapter, a lot of important plot points are introduced in such a short amount of text, so sorry bout that!
> 
> alsoooo,  
> Happy holidays, guys! :)

Travis burst out of the doors leading to the hallway and began bolting across the tile floor. He skidded across the hall as he slowed to turn down the next hall. But, once he turned, Chaz was nowhere to be seen. Well, he couldn't have gone far. Travis continued to run down the halls, every which way. 

He searched so long that Candy even bid him goodbye and went back to her dorm. A long while later and there was still no sight of Chaz anywhere.

\---

Chaz flung open a random door he approached along one side of the hall and tumbled into the room, slamming the door behind him.

What was he thinking...? Travis would never like him like... that. Besides, Chaz was straight. He only ever liked girls, so why would Travis be an exception? Travis was no different than every other dude Chaz'd been friends within his life... Right?

"I-" Chaz choked as if he were going to speak to himself. But nothing after that came out. He holed himself up in the room he now recognized to be a pitch-black cleaning closet. He sat on the ground, leaning against a mop bucket. Chaz let out a more-than-frustrated noise and flinched, trapping his fingers in his red hair and pulling hard at it. He clawed at the sunglasses covering his eyes and yanked them off of his face, revealing his reddened eyes and eyebrows pinched together. Though, despite his crushed state, he refused to let tears fall out of sheer pride. Yes. The same pride that was currently ruining his life. 

He felt his phone ring in his pocket. He figured who it was and let it ring. Again. Again. And again. It probably rang well over a dozen separate times. About half an hour passed of Chaz sitting in complete darkness before he felt the first hot tear roll down his face.

"Fuck." He whispered, feeling his cheek. His hand recoiled instinctively at the touch of his own tears as if he'd never cried before in his life. His phone rang again. This time, Chaz slowly inched it out of his pocket and looked at the screen which nearly blinded him. It was Summer calling. He accepted the call.

"Chaz?" Summer started quietly.

"Hey, Summer...? Are you alone?"

"What?" She asked, but she'd heard him anyways, "Yeah... W-"

"I... I need someone to talk to. But no one else can be with you." Chaz explained.

"Would you rather see me in person?"

"... Yeah."

\---

"Have any of you seen Chaz?!" Travis asked around the courtyard in a frantic rush.

"No! I'm sorry!" 

"Haven't seen him."

"Not since this morning, no."

Travis groaned and weaved his way through the crowd, making it to the girls' dormitory building. He walked inside and made his way down the ground floor halls, quickly approaching Candy's dorm. But not before Beebee stepped in front of him.

"Oh... Hi, Trav'!" She giggled innocently.

"What is it, Beebee? I-I'm kind of in a hurry, here-"

"Hn, okay. If you insist. I mean, I _did_ have information on where Chaz is right now but... you know... if you're _busy_." She twirled her pink hair around her pinky finger.

"What?! You know where he is?" Travis asked eagerly.

" _Oh_ yeah. He called Summer. They're in the cleaning closet in the C Building. Alone. Together. In the _dark_." Beebee dramatized, "A-And you don't even want to know what Summer told me they were going to do!" She wailed. 

Travis' heart dropped. Of course, he wasn't entirely sure that Beebee was telling the truth, but... She hadn't lied to him before. His heartbeat pounded in his chest as he turned around and dove through the door to Candy's dorm, slamming the door behind him,

"Candy." He pleaded.

"Trav'!" Her eyes widened at the sudden reappearance of her best friend, "Are you okay?!"

"Is Beebee telling the truth?" He asked. Candy knew what he was referring to,

"I..." She glanced to the side and sighed, "Trav', I... I did hear Summer say _something_ , I guess-"

"What? What did she say?!"

"I asked her where she was going. She said she was going to go see Chaz, but she couldn't tell me why or where he is. And that I couldn't follow her and that I couldn't tell _anybody_." Candy stared at the ceiling in order to avoid Travis' broken facial expression, "Yet here we are." She pressed her lips together and looked down at Travis from her bunk bed. Tears were forming in his eyes and he opened his mouth to respond,

"Candy, I knew that-" 

"You knew what, Trav'?" Her voice was soft and quiet. He stifled a sob and hung his head to face the carpeted floor. Teardrops fell and left marks on the ground,

"I knew that he was no good."

"No, Trav'... I-I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding-"

"Candy, how could you really say that at this point? It's clear he never liked me. It's fucking obvious that _he_ wasn't the one leading _me_ on, but _I_ was the one leading _myself_ on!" He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, "Just like we agreed: it was all just fake. He never liked dudes, he never liked me. He was just pretending. Now he has what he wanted, I guess. He has the smart, hot, blonde. It just took him a long time... With a lot of lies... and deceit."

"But he already had the smart, hot, blonde." Candy rested her chin atop her folded arms. Travis glared her in the eyes. She raised her eyebrows knowingly and his face softened, "He already had you, Travis. He's just a confused boy that doesn't _know_ what he wants. All he's gonna do is cause more trouble for himself."

Travis contemplated for a quiet minute,

"But the damage has already been done, Candy. He's hooking up with the cheerleader girl in the cleaning closet. How much more 'Chaz' can he get?" Travis sat down, "I'm going to have to do it... I'm gonna break it off once and for all. Tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really didn't want to start up an angst plot, but here we go, i guess :(
> 
> it'll be rlly short tho lol
> 
> "alll i want for christmas... iiiiIiiIIssss
> 
> for chaz and travis to form a mutual, healthy relationship with no misunderstandings or lies"


End file.
